Crypto boss eats banana art he bought for US$6.2 million

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

At one of Hong Kong's priciest hotels, 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's much better than other bananas," Sun said after getting his first taste.

"It's 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 Sun among seven bidders.

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

In the 10 seconds after that, he decided he would eat the banana.

"Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork's history," he said on Friday.