I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It.

Crypto
entrepreneur
Justin
Sun
ate
a
$6.2
million
artwork
at
an
event
in
Hong
Kong.

Updated
Nov
29,
2024,
1:47 p.m.

Published
Nov
29,
2024,
12:51 p.m.

Justin
Sun
walked
into
the
room
flanked
by
his
usual
entourage
of
bodyguards
and
advisers
and
made
his
way
to
the
stage.
Behind
him,
a
banana
was
duct
taped
in
position
on
a
white
wall.
On
either
side,
two
blank-faced
men
in
white
shirts
and
black
aprons
stared
into
the
sea
of
cameras
and
smartphones.
I
wondered
what
they
were
thinking.

As
for
what
I
was
thinking,
it
was
something
along
the
lines
of
how
ridiculous
this
all
was.
To
give
some
background,
on
Nov.
21
Tron
founder
Justin
Sun
paid
a
whopping
$6.2
million
—
including
$1
million
in
commission
—
at
an
auction
at
Sotheby’s
in
New
York
for
an

artwork
called

Comedian.
The
work,
created
by
modern
artist
Maurizio
Cattelan
in
2019,
is
the
aforementioned
banana
duct
taped
to
the
wall.

The
reaction
among
many
observers
was
the
typical
one
seen
whenever
anyone
spends
a
large
sum
of
money
on
modern
art:
bewilderment,
a
bit
of
disgust,
an
eye
roll.
I
think
people
who
don’t
like
art
can
still
appreciate
the
skill
that
goes
into
paintings
or
sculptures.
If
works
like

Comedian
or

Unmade
Bed
have
any
artistic
merit,
I
cannot
comprehend
it.
Tron’s
public
relations
team
assured
me
art
is
subjective.

But
it’s
memecoin
season
and
things
with
absolutely
no
intrinsic
value
are
very
in
right
now.
So
it
was
hardly
surprising
that
shortly
after
buying
the
banana-and-duct-tape
combo,
Sun
said
he
planned
to
eat
it.

This
has
happened
twice
before:
Once
in
2019,
when
a
performance
artist
took
it
from
the
Art
Basel
in
Miami
shortly
after
it
was
sold
for
$120,000.
Then
again
by
a
South
Korean
art
student
at
the
Leeum
Museum
of
Art
in
Seoul
in
2023.

It
doesn’t
affect
the
artwork.
The
banana
and
duct
tape
are
replaced
regularly
anyway.

The
consumption
took
place
at
the
5-star
Peninsula
Hotel
in
the
Tsim
Sha
Tsui
area
of
Hong
Kong
on
Friday,
a
stone’s
throw
from
some
of
the
city’s
most
notorious
doss
houses.

The
crowd
consisted
of
a
mix
of
journalists
and
people
from
the
art
and
crypto
industries,
Tron
and
Sotheby’s
employees
and
so-called
key
opinion
leaders
(KOLs).
I
mean
the
sort
of
people
who
wear
clothes
that
look
like
they
came
from
the
local
market,
but
probably
cost
thousands
of
dollars
—
U.S.
dollars,
not
Hong
Kong.
One
fellow
journalist
had
flown
all
the
way
from
Shanghai
just
for
the
event.
Around
us
in
the
foyer,
servers
in
white
suit
jackets
served
wine
and
other
refreshments.

An
information
board
near
the
entrance
said
Sun
sought
to
immerse
himself
in
the
performance
art
of
Cattelan,
with

Comedian
as
his
muse.
“He
envisions
this
iconic
piece
as
a
catalyst
for
sparking
dialogues
and
exchanges,”
the
text
read.

Other
people
I
spoke
to
in
attendance
were
more
skeptical,
characterizing
the
event
as
little
more
than
a
marketing
gimmick.

It’s
not
the
first
time
Sun
has
courted
the
limelight.
In
2019,
he
paid
$4.57
million
at
a
charity
auction
to
have
lunch
with
Warren
Buffett.
In
April
this
year,
he
commissioned
a
theme
song
for
Tron
written
by
legendary
movie
composer
Hans
Zimmer.

He
also
served
as

Grenada’s
permanent
representative
to
the
World
Trade
Organization
and,
more
recently,
became
prime
minister
of
the
libertarian

micronation
Liberland,
which
is
located
in
a
floodplain
on
the
Croatian
side
of
the
Danube.

Sun
has
also
made
the
headlines
in
far
less
whimsical
ways.
Last
year
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission

charged
him
with
fraud
and
other
securities
law
violations,
including
“fraudulently
manipulating
the
secondary
market
for
TRX
through
extensive
wash
trading.”
Sun
responded
on
X
that
the
suit
was
without
merit.

Meanwhile,
his
lawyers
have

threatened
media
outlets
with
legal
action
when
they
report
on
Tron’s
use
by
terrorist
groups.

Perhaps
the
hope
was
that
the
banana
would
bring
everyone
together
and
let
them
forget
about
this.
Indeed,
Sun
seems
to
believe
the
banana
is
the
start
of
some
sort
of
mass
movement.
“Is
it
simply
a
banana
or
something
belonging
to
all
of
us?”
he
asked
at
one
point.

He
compared
the
process
of
replacing
the
banana
every
few
days
to
the
changing
Chinese
dynasties
over
the
millennia.
He
praised
the
banana
for
how
much
traffic
and
attention
it
had
brought
himself
and
Tron.
He
noted
that
the
banana’s
value
went
beyond
the
limits
of
money.

Then
he
ate
it.

November
in
Hong
Kong
seems
to
just
be
the
prime
season
for
odd
crypto
events.
Fortunately,
unlike

ApeFest
last
November,
this
time
nobody
was
hospitalized.
Instead,
upon
leaving
attendees
received
a
replica
of

Comedian
along
with
a
roll
of
duct
tape
and
a
spare
banana.

At
least
that’s
my
breakfast
tomorrow
sorted.