The Banana

The $6.2 Million Banana (The Aftermath)

While the auction itself technically closed out late 2024, the surreal legal, financial, and literal consumption of it spilled forward into the current cultural zeitgeist.

The Sale: Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian—a literal single banana duct-taped to a wall—sold at Sotheby's for a mind-melting $6.2 million to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.

The Absurdity: The actual banana being auctioned was bought earlier that morning at a Manhattan fruit stand for just 35 cents. Sun wasn't buying the fruit, but rather the "certificate of authenticity" and a strict 14-page instruction manual on how to replace the banana at a precise 37-degree angle every 7 to 10 days.

The Event: True to his word, Sun didn't let the multi-million dollar potassium rot. He hosted a public event where he personally ate the banana on stage, dryly comparing the conceptual nature of eating a million-dollar fruit to buying intangible crypto assets.