--- title: "Crypto Guy Buys $6.2 Million Banana, Eats It on the Spot" description: "A crypto baron spent a whopping $6.2 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall has eaten it at a flashy event in Hong Kong." date: "2024-12-02" modified: "2024-12-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/crypto-guy-eats-banana" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "art" - "cryptocurrencies" - "nfts" - "the digest" --- # Crypto Guy Buys $6.2 Million Banana, Eats It on the Spot ![A crypto baron spent a whopping $6.2 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall has eaten it at a flashy event in Hong Kong.]() *\Image: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Money in the Banana Stand A crypto baron spent a whopping $6.2 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall — a conceptual artwork titled "Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan — at a Sotheby's auction in New York last week. Instead of "[hodling]()," by allowing his unusual investment to grow in value, entrepreneur Justin Sun did the opposite: eating the banana in front of a group of attendees, as the [*Guardian* reports](). "Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history," he told the crowd during a flashy event at a Hong Kong luxury hotel last week. At least the world's most expensive banana was fresh enough for Sun to enjoy eating it. "It’s much better than other bananas," he claimed. "It’s really quite good." ## Some Potassium To be clear, Cattelan always intended the controversial artwork to spark a conversation around what we can feasibly call "art." In other words, Sun's unusual strategy as an art collector isn't *quite* as bizarre as it sounds. He did, however, take the eyebrow-raising concept to its depressing conclusion by comparing the banana to a non-fungible token (NFT). "Most of its objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical," he said, as quoted by the *Guardian*. It wasn't his only questionable investment, either; Sun also [disclosed]() to regulators that he would back US president-elect Donald Trump by investing a whopping $30 million in the former reality TV star's dubious crypto project, [World Liberty Financial](). The US Securities and Exchange Commission [has also charged]() Sun for selling unregistered securities. It's an unsurprising development, given the sheer [number of crypto founders]() [currently being sued]() over securities fraud. The crypto baron has also [vowed to buy 100,000 bananas]() from Shah Alam, the owner of the New York City fruit stand that originally sold Cattelan the fateful banana [for less than a dollar](). "Through this event, we aim not only to support the fruit stand and Mr. Shah Alam but also to connect the artistic significance of the banana to everyone," Sun told the crowd during the event last week. **More on bananas:** *[Bananas May Go Extinct From Deadly Disease, Scientists Warn]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()