A handwritten note on a yellow notepad that famously read “Buy Bitcoin,” which was held up behind former United States Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen during a congressional hearing in 2017, has been sold at auction for 16 Bitcoin (BTC), equivalent to over $1 million.
The successful bidder, known as “Justin” or “Squirrekkywrath,” won the auction on the Bitcoin auction platform Scarce City. The week-long auction ended on April 24 at 11:00 pm UTC.
The note was originally created and held up by Christian Langalis, who managed to sit behind Yellen during a televised House Financial Services Committee hearing in July 2017. Langalis was promptly escorted out as signs are not allowed to be displayed during hearings.
According to CNBC, the price of Bitcoin increased by 3.7% to over $2,418 after the sign was flashed.
After Scarce City takes its 15% fee, Langalis is expected to receive approximately $875,000 or 13.6 BTC.
In a statement, Langalis expressed his satisfaction with finally being able to sell the note and return it to the Bitcoin community. He referred to the note as a “number” that he had previously kept in his sock drawer.
The listing for the auction states that the page with the handwritten sign was removed from the notepad shortly after the hearing but has since been reattached using clear archival wire. The notepad also contains an unseen rough draft of the iconic scrawl, as well as notes on the hearing’s monetary policy and Bitcoin.
Langalis’ original draft of the sign was included in the sale. In 2019, he created and sold 21 replicas of the sign, with an average price of 0.8 BTC, worth around $51,300 today. These replicas are reportedly displayed in the offices of venture firms Paradigm, Blockchain Capital, Castle Island Ventures, and the crypto think-tank Coin Center.
According to Bloomberg, Langalis plans to use the proceeds from the latest sale to fund a Bitcoin software project.