Kryptos Code CRACKED! Two Journalists Accidentally Find CIA Sculpture’s Final Secret in a Trash Pile — Is the Auction WORTHLESS Now?
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
LANGLEY, VA | October 16, 2025 – The auction for the final, closely-guarded solution to the Kryptos sculpture—the infamous encrypted message at CIA headquarters—has been thrown into chaos. Just as bidding opened, two journalists publicly announced they had accidentally stumbled upon the 97-character decryption, finding it on a piece of scrap paper in the Smithsonian’s public Archives of American Art.
The unexpected discovery dramatically undercuts sculptor Jim Sanborn’s planned auction, which was expected to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000 to cover medical expenses and support charities.
