Justin Sun, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has fulfilled his promise to eat the banana from Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial 2019 artwork Comedian, which he recently purchased for $6.2 million (£4.9 million). Sun won the piece after outbidding six other contenders at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. At a press conference in Hong Kong, Sun took a bite of the banana, using the moment to draw comparisons between the artwork and cryptocurrency. The artwork, which consists of a banana duct-taped to a wall, typically features a fresh banana that is replaced regularly during exhibitions. Sun bought the right to display the piece, along with instructions on how to replace the fruit.
The banana from Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian artwork has been eaten twice before—once by a performance artist in 2019 and again by a South Korean student in 2023—but neither of them paid for the privilege, unlike Justin Sun, who spent $6.2 million to acquire the piece. At a press conference, Sun explained that eating the banana was a way to make his mark in the artwork’s history. “Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” he remarked, adding, “It’s much better than other bananas.” The 34-year-old entrepreneur admitted to having some curiosity about the artwork, particularly wondering if the banana would eventually rot.
A fresh banana was purchased for just 35 cents on the day of the auction, but it quickly became one of the world’s most expensive fruits. Attendees at the auction were given a banana and a roll of duct tape as souvenirs, with Sun joking, “Everyone has a banana to eat.”
Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain network, which allows users to trade cryptocurrency, drew comparisons between Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian artwork and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). NFTs are digital artworks that, like Cattelan’s piece, hold no inherent value except what is assigned to them by people. Sun suggested that both the banana artwork and NFTs are abstract concepts that rely on perception and market demand. NFTs can be bought and sold on platforms such as the one Sun operates.
Last year, he faced charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for offering and selling unregistered security tokens, though he denies the allegations, and the case is still ongoing. This week, Sun also revealed he had made a $30 million investment in a cryptocurrency project associated with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
