Millionaire cryptocurrency entrepreneur bought banana art installation for $6.2 million — and then ate it

Shocking price tags for contemporary art aren’t unusual, but a $6.2 million banana still managed to turn heads. The artwork, part of an installation, took an even stranger twist when its buyer, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, decided to eat it. According to BBC, Sun made good on his unique promise, adding a bold new chapter to the artwork’s story.

Sun outbid six others to purchase Maurizio Cattelan’s 2019 artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall, auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York. As the buyer, Sun now holds the rights to display the installation, along with a guide on replacing the fruit, which is routinely swapped out before exhibitions. The entrepreneur ate the banana at a press conference in Hong Kong and compared the installation with cryptocurrency while he did the same. "Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork's history," the man pointed out. "It's much better than other bananas."

Sun admitted his curiosity about whether the banana ever rotted sparked his interest in the artwork. However, the entrepreneur isn't the first person who has eaten the banana. A performance artist did the same in 2019 and a student ate it in 2023 but none of them bought it before doing that, as per the outlet. The banana was bought from a stand outside the auction house for somewhere around 25 cents to 35 cents from an immigrant from Bangladesh who was shocked to hear about the installation and the price it was sold at, as per the New York Times. Every person attending the auction was given a banana and duct tape, as per BBC. "Everyone has a banana to eat," Sun remarked.

Sun compared the artwork to NFTs, suggesting its value lay in its unique story rather than how people typically viewed it. As a way to show his thanks to the vendor, Shah Alam, who sold the banana, Sun bought a huge amount of them from his stall. "To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stall in the Upper East Side of New York. These bananas will be distributed for free around the world through his stall. Show a valid ID to receive a banana while stocks last," the man wrote in an X post where he goes by @sunyuchentron.

In an update, he wrote, "This is not only a special event, but also a celebration of the beautiful connection between everyday life and art. I hope this action can help more people understand the significance of this unique art story." The man added, "As a fruit stall owner, Shah Alam had inadvertently become a major contributor to a groundbreaking work of art. Far from being just any fruit, this banana had profound cultural and artistic significance." Another update said, "Now, it is part of the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's work "Comedian," which has been posted on a wall and auctioned for $5.2 million, making it the focus of global attention."