Crypto mogul Justin Solar made headlines as soon as once more on Friday as he fulfilled a unusual promise made after buying a chunk of conceptual artwork value $6.2 million. The paintings, titled Comic, created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, contains a banana taped to a wall — and Solar had pledged to eat the banana after buying it. True to his phrase, the crypto entrepreneur bit into the fruit at one in all Hong Kong’s most luxurious lodges, with dozens of journalists and influencers current to witness the bizarre occasion.
(Additionally learn: Crypto boss buys banana taped to wall for ₹53 crore, will eat it to ‘full paintings’)
An iconic second for artwork and crypto
Earlier than chomping down on the banana, Solar gave a quick speech during which he praised the paintings as “iconic” and emphasised the parallels between conceptual artwork and cryptocurrency. He defined how each artwork varieties problem conventional concepts of worth and possession. “It’s significantly better than different bananas,” Solar mentioned after taking his first chunk. “It’s actually fairly good,” he added with a smile, talking to AFP.
The acquisition of Comic got here at a Sotheby’s public sale in New York, the place Solar was amongst seven bidders. The paintings, which debuted at Artwork Basel in Miami Seaside in 2019, had beforehand sparked controversy and debates about its standing as artwork. Cattelan himself supposed to ignite such discussions, and Solar’s daring gesture solely added to the paintings’s storied historical past.
Watch the clip right here:
A chunk of artwork with a storied historical past
Solar admitted that he felt a second of “disbelief” when he received the bid, however rapidly realised the cultural and monetary potential of the piece. “This might develop into one thing huge,” he mentioned, noting that consuming the banana at a press occasion might be an integral a part of its legacy.
(Additionally learn: Crypto CEO claims he’s a billionaire whereas humiliating intern. ‘He’s not,’ says Reddit)
The second was symbolic of the rising intersection between the worlds of digital artwork and cryptocurrency. Solar drew comparisons between Comic and NFT (non-fungible token) artwork, suggesting that each characterize mental property in a digital house, relatively than bodily objects.
A $30 million funding announcement
Alongside the banana-eating spectacle, Solar additionally made headlines with a brand new $30 million funding in World Liberty Monetary, a cryptocurrency venture backed by US president-elect Donald Trump. Regardless of his entrepreneurial success, Solar remains to be embroiled in authorized troubles. Final 12 months, he was charged by the US Securities and Change Fee (SEC) for providing and promoting unregistered securities associated to his crypto venture, Tron. The case stays pending.
Bananas for everybody
As a part of the occasion, attendees had been handed rolls of duct tape and bananas as souvenirs. Solar joked, “Everybody has a banana to eat,” encouraging visitors to hitch within the enjoyable and additional cementing the paintings’s place in historical past.
