Founder of the Tron cryptocurrency platform ate an artistic banana for which he paid 6 million dollars

A Chinese-American businessman kept his promise and ate an artistic banana this Friday for which he paid six million dollars. It was a work that consisted of fruit stuck to a wall with adhesive tape. “It’s really very good,” he commented.

In a luxurious hotel in Hong Kong, Justin Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency platform Tron, devoured the fruit in front of dozens of journalists and influencers.

Before doing so, the businessman, in his early 30s, gave a speech in which he called the work of art “iconic” and compared conceptual art and cryptocurrencies.

“It’s much better than other bananas,” he declared after taking his first bite. “It’s really very good,” he added emphatically.

The work consists of a banana attached to a wall with a piece of silver duct tape. Titled “Comedian”, it was created by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, known for his provocative and iconoclastic character.

Last week it was auctioned in New York for 6.2 million dollars (5.9 million euros) in a sale organized by the Sotheby’s house.

Justin Sun He confessed to having felt “disbelief” during the first ten seconds after winning the auction. In the next ten seconds he decided that he would eat the banana.

“Eating it during a press conference can also be part of the history of this work of art,” he explained on Friday.

The work exists in three copies and is designed to question the notion of art and its value. Since its first exhibition in 2019 in Miami, it has generated enormous debate.

The owner receives a certificate of authenticity and instructions for replacing the banana when it starts to decompose.

On Friday, Justin Sun compared conceptual works like “Comedian” to NFT (non-fungible token, a unique digital asset) art and decentralized blockchain technology.

“Most of these objects and ideas exist as intellectual property and on the internet, rather than as something physical,” he noted.

Justin Sun this week announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency lending and investment platform backed by former US President Donald Trump.

As a souvenir of the event, each of the attendees received a roll of masking tape and a banana.