The untitled piece, painted in 1984 and celebrating the start of the digital era with the depiction of a computer, has an estimated value of £3.9-4.5 million (RM22.5-26 million).

The auction house said buyers could make the full payment – the hammer price and full premium – using ether or bitcoin.

“The painting is probably the first example of an artist celebrating the computer. It was in 1984 that the Apple Macintosh was launched, so it’s really a piece of history,” said Katharine Arnold, co-head of post-war and contemporary art for Christie’s in Europe.

“The potential for paying in cryptocurrency for the full hammer price and buyer’s premium felt like this was a perfect marriage.”

Other lots include “Homme qui chavire”, a £12-18 million sculpture by Giacometti, as well as Picasso’s “L’Etreinte”, a painting that is seen to fetch £11-16 million.