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Crypto boss eats banana art he bought for $6.2 million
Crypto boss eats banana art he bought for $6.2 million
by AFP Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Nov 29, 2024

Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Friday fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2 million on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall -- by eating the fruit.

At one of Hong Kong's priciest hotels, Sun chomped down on a banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as "iconic" and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

"It's much better than other bananas," Sun said after getting his first taste.

"It's really quite good."

Titled "Comedian", the conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York last week, with Sun among seven bidders.

Sun said he felt "disbelief" in the first 10 seconds after he won the bid, before realising "this could become something big".

In the 10 seconds after that, he decided he would eat the banana.

"Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork's history," he said Friday.

The debut of the edible creation at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach sparked controversy and raised questions about whether it should be considered art -- Cattelan's stated aim.

And Sun on Friday compared conceptual art like "Comedian" to NFT art and decentralised blockchain technology.

"Most of its objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical," he said.

- 'Apolitical' investment -

Sun this week also became an advisor to World Liberty Financial, a crypto initiative backed by US president-elect Donald Trump, following a $30 million investment.

He earlier wrote on social media platform X that he was "excited to help make crypto great again in the US" with Trump's leadership.

On Friday Sun denied that the investment -- which made him the largest investor in the project -- was an attempt to influence Trump or American politics.

"We are apolitical," Sun told AFP in an interview.

"Me (serving) as advisor also contribute a lot of value... I can be a great bridge for traditional financial and the (decentralised finance) industry."

The 34-year-old crypto businessman was last year charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with fraud and securities law violation in relation to his crypto project Tron.

Sun has rejected the allegations and the case is ongoing.

At a function room at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong, two men dressed as auction house staff stood in front of a featureless wall with the yellow banana offering the only splash of colour.

Sun said he only recently decided to bid for the artwork, adding he had "dumb questions" such as whether the banana had decayed and how to value the work.

The artwork owner is given a certificate of authenticity that the work was created by Cattelan as well as instructions about how to replace the fruit when it goes bad.

Sun told AFP that his artwork may well benefit from the same kind of speculative craze usually associated with crypto.

"I think (the price) probably is going to go up even more in the future, just like Bitcoin," he said.

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