Late former
South African President Nelson Mandela may be no more, but his legacy still
lives on. The first black president of South Africa has had a gold cast of his
hands sold for a whopping $10 (£7m) in bitcoin.
Canadian
crypto-currency exchange firm Arbitrade bought four casts from South African
businessman Malcolm Duncan.
The firm said
it planned to launch a global “Golden Hands of Nelson Mandela” tour to educate
young people about the anti-apartheid icon’s life.
This is the
first time artefacts of Mr Mandela have been sold in bitcoin.
Mr Mandela
was jailed for 27 years for fighting white minority rule in South Africa.
He was
released in 1990, and served as president from 1994 to 1999. Mr Mandela died in
2013 at the age of 95. He had turned into a global brand, with businessmen and
artists cashing in on his name.
Mr Duncan,
who now lives in Canada, bought the casts from mining group Harmony Gold in
2002 for about $31,000.
Half of the
money paid to Harmony Gold was meant to go to charity, but it remains unclear
as to whether that happened, Bloomberg news agency reports.
Harmony said
it had “supplied Mr Duncan with the necessary paperwork verifying the
provenance as requested by his attorneys,” but declined to comment on what
happened to the donation, Bloomberg reports.
The casts,
which weigh around 20lb (9kg), include Mr Mandela’s hand, palm and fist. They
are part of a collection meant to mark the years the former president spent in
prison on Robben Island.
The artefacts
are believed to be the only ones left in the world.
The other
sets of the collection were ordered to be destroyed by Mr Mandela, Mr Duncan
told Bloomberg.
It was part
of the former president’s attempt to control his copyright after a number of
scandals, including forgery allegations, arose around the sale of art bearing
his image and name.
Arbitrade has
paid Mr Duncan a bitcoin deposit that has been converted to $50,000, and the
rest is expected to be paid in quarterly installments of at least $2m,
Bloomberg reports.
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