Sun Yuchen moves the Earth with a banana: the viral $6.2 million artwork symbolizes the power of crypto culture
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Sun Yuchen moves the Earth with a banana: the viral $6.2 million artwork symbolizes the power of crypto culture
People can't help but wonder what Sun Yuchen's deeper intention is this time.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Huobi HTX
On the morning of November 21, Beijing time, Justin Sun, Global Advisor of Huobi HTX and founder of TRON, acquired Maurizio Cattelan's iconic artwork *Comedian*—a banana taped to a wall—for $6.2 million including commission at Sotheby’s “NOW Evening Auction” in New York. This made the duct-taped banana the most expensive fruit in history. The news quickly went viral worldwide, sparking heated online discussions. People couldn’t help but wonder: what was Justin Sun’s deeper intention behind this bold move?
On the evening of November 22, Sun appeared on a special livestream hosted by Huobi, sharing his story behind the banana with users, and discussing the significance of this art auction for the cryptocurrency ecosystem alongside several well-known crypto KOLs and blockchain media.
The Banana’s Popularity Is a Phenomenal Meme
Sun said he had long known about the existence of the “duct-taped banana” artwork, but only truly came to understand it through meme coins. While involved in listing operations at Huobi HTX, he conducted extensive research into the meme ecosystem and noticed growing attention around banana-themed memes (BAN, listed on Huobi HTX in late October), which sparked his interest in *Comedian* and the Sotheby’s auction.
Entering the bidding somewhat casually, Sun ended up winning the piece. But he admitted the overwhelming global attention that followed completely surprised him. “I never expected this banana would blow up like this. People might know it has some traction in crypto circles, but I didn’t expect it to gain such massive mainstream visibility,” Sun said. “My WeChat search index skyrocketed—briefly surpassing even Pony Ma [founder of Tencent]. It made front-page headlines in the New York Times, BBC, CNN—more buzz than the G20 Summit.”
Sun was also astonished that despite the auction featuring other works estimated near $20 million, during previews “almost 90% of visitors were there just to see the banana, while no one paid attention to the $18 million masterpieces.” He added, “This reminded me of meme coins—their popularity once surpassed Bitcoin itself and became the market’s focal point. I hope this artwork can spark reflection and create cross-boundary resonance among art, memes, and the crypto community.”
From Buffett’s Lunch to a Banana Bound for Space
When discussing Sun’s past high-profile bids, one cannot overlook his purchase of Warren Buffett’s charity lunch. Recalling the experience, Sun shared the two investment suggestions he gave Buffett: “I advised him to allocate most of his cash into two assets—one being Tesla, then trading at very low prices, and the other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Four years have passed, and we’ve seen tremendous changes—from Musk’s rise to the growth of the crypto industry. Unfortunately, Buffett didn’t take my advice. For him, it may have been a missed opportunity.”
Interestingly, Elon Musk also shares a connection with bananas—SpaceX’s Starship carried an artificial banana as a zero-gravity indicator during its sixth test flight, complete with banana-themed livery. When asked about his next steps with the artwork, Sun said, “I’d love to tape this banana onto one of Musk’s SpaceX rockets and send it to Mars. That would be an incredibly meme-worthy scene. Imagine a banana strapped to a rocket, soaring across the cosmos to Mars or the Moon, then returning to Earth for a charitable auction. Such a gesture would be highly symbolic—not only embodying the spirit of memes but also showcasing how crypto culture transcends boundaries and defies conventions.”
Using a Banana to Bridge the Public to the Crypto Ecosystem
While the $6.2 million banana is undoubtedly expensive, it acts like a lever, pulling global attention toward crypto culture. In Sun’s view, the banana symbolizes the aesthetic of the crypto community—and compared to traditional art collecting, it carries stronger emotional power. “The art world and the crypto world are closely linked. The PEOPLE token from the last cycle was also tied to art auctions—back then, people were crowdfunding to bid on a copy of the U.S. Constitution. But the triggers that ignite each community differ. Compared to the art world, the crypto space excels at conveying culture through humor and rebellion, making it more relatable to the public. This emotional accessibility may be precisely what distinguishes it from traditional art,” Sun explained.
Guests joining Huobi’s livestream also shared their perspectives on the auction. KOL DaDa remarked, “The banana artwork is a perfect example of meme culture. Its creation was meant to humorously challenge the art world’s traditional definition of value, using absurdity to provoke resonance. The crypto community and meme culture are naturally aligned—cryptocurrencies inherently carry anti-authority, decentralized values. The global attention generated by this auction can build a bridge between traditional and crypto cultures, accelerating the globalization of Web3. Through this artwork, more outsiders won’t just hear that Bitcoin might hit $100,000—they’ll also start noticing the cultural depth of the crypto market.”
Jack Kong, founder of Nano Labs, said, “Meme coins represent a native blockchain financial culture and constitute a highly sustainable long-term trend. At its core, Bitcoin was originally a meme too—it gradually evolved into a global financial phenomenon. Memes have the power to create miracles. The significance of Sun’s auction isn’t that he赋予 meaning to memes—it’s that he himself has become a meme.”
Liu Ye, spokesperson for Huobi HTX, stated that Sun’s $6.2 million acquisition of *Comedian* is a milestone event in both art history and crypto history. “It will attract more creators into the crypto space, making the entire ecosystem richer and more diverse. I’m eager to see how people will reassess this moment years from now,” Liu said.
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