Crypto mogul Justin Sun on Friday honored his commitment he made following the purchase of a $6.2 million worth piece of art that featured a banana taped to a wall. Sun had promised that he would be eating the banana and he fulfilled his pledge at one of Hong Kong’s costliest hotels by chomping the fruit in front of dozens of journalists and influencers.
Watch the crypto entreprenaur devour the banana:
He also delivered a speech, before the gesture, praising the artwork as “iconic” and drawing connections between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun said after getting his first taste.
“It’s really quite good,” he told AFP.
The conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, “Comedian”, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York last week, with Sun among seven bidders.
Sun admitted he experienced a moment of “disbelief” during the first 10 seconds after winning the bid, only to quickly realize that “this could become something big,” and decided to eat the banana.
“Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” he said on Friday.
The debut of the edible artwork at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach ignited controversy and sparked debates over whether it should even be classified as art, an outcome that Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan had intended.
On Friday, Sun drew parallels between works like Comedian and NFT art.
“Most of its objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical,” he said.
Sun also announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project supported by US president-elect Donald Trump.
The crypto entrepreneur was charged last year by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for offering and selling unregistered securities in connection with his crypto project, Tron. The case is still pending.
Sun mentioned that he only made the decision to bid on the artwork recently, jokingly admitting he had “dumb questions” like whether the banana had already spoiled and how to determine the value of such a piece.
The owner of the artwork received a certificate of authenticity confirming that it was created by Cattelan, along with instructions on how to replace the banana once it begins to decay.
Event attendees on Friday each received a roll of duct tape and a banana as a souvenir.
“Everyone has a banana to eat,” he said.