Going bananas: Crypto boss eats his $8.3m artwork

HONG KONG - Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Nov 29 fulfilled a promise he made after spending US$6.2 million (S$8.3 million) on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall - by eating the fruit.

- AFP

At one of Hong Kong's priciest hotels, Mr Sun chomped down on a banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as "iconic", and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

"It is much better than other bananas," Mr Sun said after getting his first taste. "It is really quite good."

Titled Comedian, the conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York last week, with Mr Sun among seven bidders.

Mr Sun said he felt "disbelief" in the first 10 seconds after he won the bid, before realising "this could become something big".