Tron’s Justin Sun wins $6.2M banana auction, reminding us that art is subjective (and edible)

The art world seems to have moved on Picasso. There’s a new muse in town: a banana stuck to a wall. Crypto entrepreneur and Tron founder Justin Sun recently splashed $6.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York for “Comedian,” Maurizio Cattelan’s viral “work of art” that consists of… well , a banana and some duct tape.

And in true Justin Sun fashion, he plans to eat it.

“This isn’t just a piece of art,” Sun told X “It represents a cultural phenomenon that unites art, memes, and the crypto community.” Obviously, nothing screams cultural phenomenon like paying a New York penthouse price for fruit with trust issues.

The auction, described as fast-paced and “slippery,” started at $800,000 and rose faster than Bitcoin in 2021. Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker leaned into the theme with plenty of puns, asking to bidders who did not “run away”. Six contenders, bananas in hand (figuratively speaking), competed for the prize, but Sun emerged victorious with a bid of $5.2 million, plus $1 million in Sotheby’s fees. Yes, even duct tape comes with a premium price.

For his investment, Sun receives a 35-cent banana, a roll of duct tape, and an instruction manual on replacing that banana when it inevitably breaks. Oh, and a certificate of authenticity. Because obviously counterfeit bananas are a real concern.

This is not the banana’s first rodeo. It made its debut at Art Basel Miami in 2019, where it sold for a whopping $120,000 and sparked a frenzy of debate about the value of art. Performance artists ate it up, impersonators ate it up, and the world scratched its collective head.

Sun’s promise to eat the banana may secure his place in art history, but whether this “cultural phenomenon” is worth $6.2 million remains to be seen.

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