Wellington creative studio KISSLabs creates rare Bitcoin book auctioned in Abu Dhabi
Wellington creative studio KISSLabs is behind one of the world’s rarest books, a meticulously crafted history of Bitcoin told through art, design and research, housed in a 5,000-year-old fossilised black oak case, which sold under the hammer in Abu Dhabi last week for nearly $70,000.
Bit / History of Bitcoin was conceived and curated by KISSLabs Creative Director Caspian Ievers, following more than three years of research and collaboration with artists and craftspeople around the world. Featuring 128 original artworks commissioned exclusively for the project, Bit traces Bitcoin’s evolution – from the cryptographic breakthroughs that made digital currency possible to its broader social, cultural and technological impact today.
Artists include Agoria, Ryan Koopmans and Other World, alongside five Aotearoa artists – Caspian Ievers, illtopia, Samantha Asri, and Wellington-based artists Dean Proudfoot and Delainy Jamahl.
In curating Bit, Ievers says the goal was to create something enduring and a cultural artefact: “Every artwork was created specifically for Bit, marking a moment in time. It is both a chronicle and a cultural statement about the digital era we’re living through and the impact Bitcoin has had on shaping our world as we know it.
Ievers and KISSLabs acted as editors and curators for UK-based Smashtoshi, assembling a global creative network. Following a world tour with collector and artist events in London, Amsterdam, New York and Dubai, a one-of-one edition of Bit was auctioned at the Bitcoin MENA convention in Abu Dhabi, selling for approximately $68,000 NZD.
“We believe the story of Bitcoin belongs to everyone,” says Ievers. “It’s living proof of what can be created when art, research, and design come together to tell a story that’s bigger than all of us; this is a book that will stand the test of time.”
The edition features bull leather finishing and a bespoke silver Bitcoin emblem by Asprey Studio in London, and housed in a custom mechanical case crafted from 5,000-year-old black oak.
A Collector’s Edition, limited to 2,140 copies, is also available, presented on a metal stand etched with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin whitepaper, designed in New Zealand. Both editions include a companion book, Revelations, a 350-page softbound volume that offers a deeper guide to the stories, symbols, and protocols behind the artworks.
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