Crypto boss eats banana art he bought for $6.2m

HONG KONG: Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun connected Friday fulfilled a committedness helium made aft spending $6.2 cardinal connected an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a partition -- by eating the fruit.

At 1 of Hong Kong's priciest hotels, Sun chomped down connected a banana successful beforehand of dozens of journalists and influencers aft giving a code hailing the enactment arsenic “iconic” and drew parallels betwixt conceptual creation and cryptocurrency.

“It’s overmuch amended than different bananas,“ Sun said aft getting his archetypal taste.

“It’s truly rather good.”

Titled “Comedian”, the conceptual enactment created by Italian creator Maurizio Cattelan was sold astatine a Sotheby’s auction successful New York past week, with Sun among 7 bidders.

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Sun said helium felt “disbelief” successful the archetypal 10 seconds aft helium won the bid, earlier realising “this could go thing big”.

In the 10 seconds aft that, helium decided helium would devour the banana.

“Eating it astatine a property league tin besides go a portion of the artwork’s history,“ helium said Friday.

The debut of the edible instauration astatine the 2019 Art Basel amusement successful Miami Beach sparked contention and raised questions astir whether it should beryllium considered creation -- Cattelan's stated aim.

And Sun connected Friday compared conceptual creation similar “Comedian” to NFT creation and decentralised blockchain technology.

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“Most of its objects and ideas beryllium arsenic (intellectual property) and connected the internet, arsenic opposed to thing physical,“ helium said.

Sun besides this week disclosed a $30 cardinal concern successful World Liberty Financial, a crypto task backed by US president-elect Donald Trump.

The crypto businessman was past twelvemonth charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with offering and selling unregistered securities successful narration to his crypto task Tron. The lawsuit is ongoing.

At a relation country astatine the Peninsula edifice successful Hong Kong, 2 men dressed arsenic auction location unit stood successful beforehand of a featureless partition with the yellowish banana offering the lone splash of colour.

Sun said helium lone precocious decided to bid for the artwork, adding helium had “dumb questions” specified arsenic whether the banana had decayed and however to worth the work.

The artwork proprietor is fixed a certificate of authenticity that the enactment was created by Cattelan arsenic good arsenic instructions astir however to regenerate the effect erstwhile it goes bad.

Event attendees connected Friday each received a rotation of duct portion and a banana arsenic a souvenir.

“Everyone has a banana to eat,“ helium said.