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A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who last week bought a piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana taped to a wall for $US6.2 million ($9.5 million) ate the fruit in Hong Kong on Friday.
Chinese-born Justin Sun peeled off the duct tape and enjoyed a banana at a press conference held at The Peninsula Hong Kong, one of the city’s most expensive hotels, in the popular shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
“It tastes much better than other bananas. Pretty good indeed,” he said.
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“Comedian,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelano, was a phenomenon when it debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach, as festival-goers tried to discern whether a single yellow piece of fruit taped to a white wall with silver duct tape was a joke or a cheeky commentary on the questionable standards among art collectors.
At one point another artist took a banana off the wall and ate it.
The piece attracted so much attention that it had to be pulled from view. But the three editions sold for between $120,000 and $150,000 ($184,000 – $230,000), according to the gallery handling the sale at the time.
Last week, Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON, made the winning bid at Sotheby’s auction in New York.
Or, more accurately, Sun bought a certificate of authenticity that gives him the authority to stick a banana on the wall and call it “The Comedian.”
At the time, Sun said in a statement that the work “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community.”
“I will personally eat a banana as part of this unique artistic experience, respecting its place in art history and popular culture,” he said.
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The South China Morning Post reported that the banana he ate on Friday was bought in Hong Kong.
Sun announced on X on Tuesday that it has invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial, which was launched in September by US President-elect Donald Trump as a family cryptocurrency venture.
Sun said in the announcement that its platform, TRON, is “committed to making America great again and leading innovation.”
After investing in Trump’s venture, he became an advisor to World Liberty Financial.
Last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun with fraud and other violations of securities laws.
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In response, he told X that the complaint had “no merit.”
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