Hong Kong, China – A Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Justin Sun, recently made headlines by fulfilling a rather unusual promise. After outbidding six others to acquire Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous artwork titled “Comedian” – a banana duct-taped to a wall – for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s auction house in New York, Sun made good on his word and consumed the fruit during a news conference in Hong Kong.
The banana in question is a part of the artwork which is regularly replaced prior to exhibitions. Sun not only obtained the right to display the installation but also received instructions on how to replace the fruit. Interestingly, the banana has been eaten twice before – once by a performance artist in 2019 and then by a South Korean student in 2023, both without having paid any money for the privilege.
During the news conference, Sun drew comparisons between the artwork and the world of cryptocurrency, mentioning that eating the banana as part of the press conference would become intertwined with the history of the artwork itself. Sun, who runs the Tron blockchain network allowing users to trade in cryptocurrency, further likened the artwork and similar abstract pieces to NFTs (non-fungible tokens) – digital artwork pieces traded on platforms.
Despite facing charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly offering and selling unregistered security tokens, Sun shared news of a $30 million investment in a crypto project supported by US President-elect Donald Trump. This move comes in the midst of an ongoing legal battle over the charges, as Sun continues to navigate the world of cryptocurrency with his Tron blockchain service.