Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has bought Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous artwork Comedian—a banana duct-taped to a wall—for $6.2 million at a New York auction.Tron founder said he plans to eat the banana, describing the act as part of a “unique artistic experience.”“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun wrote in a Nov. 21 X post.

0

Justin Sun plans to eat the banana in the coming days.The artwork, sold by Sotheby’s, comes with guidelines for replacing the banana as it decays and a certificate of authenticity. Initially priced at $800,000, bidding quickly soared, with Sun ultimately paying $5.2 million plus $1 million in fees, far exceeding its $1–$1.5 million presale estimate.

1

Titled Comedian, the piece features a real banana taped to a wall with duct tape, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and instructions for replacing the fruit and tape.

Maurizio Cattelan describes it as a critique of modern values and the commercialisation of art, emphasising themes of “speed and business” prevalent at art fairs.This isn’t the first time the banana has been consumed.

2

In 2019, artist David Datuna ate the banana after it sold for $120,000 at Art Basel Miami. Similarly, in 2022, a student in Seoul ate the piece, claiming hunger after skipping breakfast.Sun’s high-profile purchase coincides with ongoing legal scrutiny. The U.S.

3

Justice Department is reportedly investigating him and Tether, while the SEC filed a lawsuit in March 2023, alleging unregistered securities sales and wash trading of Tron tokens, which Sun denies.The case claims that the Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry (formerly BitTorrent) distributed billions of crypto assets and manipulated trade volumes to attract investors.

4

The SEC also accused Sun of inflating BitTorrent’s BTT token price.In their defence, Tron argued that the SEC’s claims misunderstood the Howey test’s third prong, which addresses profit expectations from others’ efforts, and contested the agency’s additional filings as unwarranted.

5