Crypto traders turned tungsten into a meme. Now they can buy it with bitcoin.
- Tungsten-cube enthusiasts can now purchase the dense metal with bitcoin, The Block Crypto reported.
- The small, but dense cubes went viral last week following a tweet, Coindesk said.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts who turned Tungsten cubes into a meme can now buy the dense metal with bitcoin.
Midwest Tungsten Service, the supplier of the small novelty cubes that weigh several pounds, said it will accept bitcoin through a partnership with OpenNode, a crypto payment processor, The Block Crypto reported Tuesday.
That's a win for enthusiasts like CMS Holdings' Dan Matuszewski, who told the outlet that "crypto just has a propensity for the density."
The cubes go viral every once in a while because of their small size and high density, and this time crypto Twitter caused the craze, Bloomberg reported, citing Midwest Tungsten general manager Kevin Anetsberger.
Last week, a tweet joking about crypto enthusiasts causing a tungsten shortage prompted a 300% rise in retail cube sales at Midwest Tungsten, Coindesk reported on Oct. 14.
A 1.5-inch cube weighs about two pounds. On Amazon, it's described as "surprisingly heavy; a great conversation piece." The item, though, is currently unavailable. On the Midwest Tungsten website, a 4-inch cube, which weighs about 40 pounds, is being sold for $2,999.99.
Sean Murray, Midwest Tungsten's director of ecommerce, told Coindesk that the company, which generally produces the metal for industrial customers, has plenty of tungsten to spare and will prepare a new shipment to an Amazon fulfillment store.
In the future, he told Coindesk, there may be a 14-inch cube special edition weighing more than 1,700 pounds - wait until crypto enthusiasts see that.
Midwest Tungsten did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.