Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun ate a banana from Maurizio Cattelan's $6.2M artwork Comedian at a Hong Kong press event. Sun highlighted the connection between conceptual art and cryptocurrency, predicting the piece's value could rise over time. His bold move adds another chapter to his controversial journey.
Chinese crypto mogul Justin Sun has sparked global attention by eating a banana from an artwork he purchased for $6.2 million. The artwork, titled Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, originally debuted at Art Basel Miami in 2019 and has been a symbol of conceptual art's provocativeness.
During a press event in Hong Kong, Sun consumed the banana in front of an audience of journalists and influencers, calling it "iconic" and linking it to the disruptive nature of cryptocurrency. “It’s better than other bananas,” he quipped, emphasizing the parallel between the art world and the digital asset space.
Sun admitted initial skepticism about the piece, wondering how to value an artwork centered on a perishable item. However, he saw potential, suggesting that the act of eating the banana added a new layer to the artwork’s history. He compared its impact to NFTs, emphasizing that much of modern art and cryptocurrency exists more as intellectual property than physical objects.
The entrepreneur also drew a parallel between the banana’s speculative value and Bitcoin, predicting that the artwork’s value could rise over time.
Sun's high-profile stunt adds another chapter to his controversial journey. Recently, he announced a $30 million investment in a cryptocurrency project linked to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, while still facing unresolved charges from the U.S. SEC over unregistered securities related to his TRON project.
