Slash youth Justin Sun has recently gained two new titles, namely Cattleya Banana Holder and Worlds Freelance Financial Consultant and Largest Investor in Crypto Projects.
The last time Sun Yuchen made a sensation in an auction was in 2019, when he bid $4,567,888 for Buffetts charity lunch. This time, Sun Yuchen did not expect that the banana he bought for $6.24 million would receive unprecedented attention. Even my relatives in the village saw the news and came to ask me. On November 29, Sun Yuchen held a special banana launch conference at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and ate the banana in public.
After the meeting, Justin Sun accepted an exclusive interview with PANews. In addition to supporting Hong Kong as a gathering point for art and Web3, he was also optimistic about the development of the US crypto market and was full of confidence in 2025.
The worlds most expensive banana draws worldwide attention
As the bidding price continued to rise, Sothebys auctioneer Buck lamented: I never thought I would say $5 million for a banana. In the end, the banana was sold for $5.2 million. Including the handling fee, the total transaction price reached $6.24 million. Justin Sun paid the auction fee in cryptocurrency.
Before the auction, Justin Suns team estimated the bananas value at $2 million to $5 million. There were seven bidders in total. I didnt think I could win the bid, so I set a reserve price for myself. If it was much higher than $5 million, I wouldnt buy it. Sun said that he found it a little unbelievable within 10 seconds of successfully bidding, after all, he was just trying to join in the fun. Then came the interview invitations from global media, which surprised him, and then he made a decision to eat the banana and become a part of its history.
It is reported that the banana was bought by Sothebys staff from a fruit stand on Manhattans Upper East Side that morning. The owner of the fruit stand is from Bangladesh and revealed that the banana was sold for 35 cents. This means that the auction price is 14.85 million times the actual value of the banana.
The most expensive banana in history has successfully landed on major news and social media hot searches. The expensive auction itself is a true representation of the meaning of the work. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelans conceptual art work Comedian looks like a fresh banana taped to the wall. Its original intention was to challenge the audiences traditional perception of art in a humorous and absurd way. Through an ordinary banana, it explores the value of art, the nature of consumerism, and the absurdity of the art market, intending to satirize market speculation. Before the auction, the BAN Meme launched by Sothebys vice president also successfully warmed up this auction event in the crypto circle.
In fact, this work is limited to three pieces, two of which were sold for $120,000 in 2019, and the third was donated to the Guggenheim Museum. Each work has a corresponding collection certificate and installation instructions, and the owner can replace the banana at any time according to his wishes. So even if Justin Sun eats this banana, he can replace it with another one. Previously, the work was eaten by the audience when it was exhibited in Miami and South Korea.
“This is more than just a piece of art, it represents a cultural phenomenon that connects the art, meme, and cryptocurrency communities. I believe this work will inspire more thinking and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”
In Sun Yuchens eyes, the banana is also in line with the spirit of blockchain. It can be assembled at will and exhibited anywhere at will, as long as I authorize it. This is also equivalent to the charm of decentralization, a bit like the blockchain and crypto world.
In fact, Justin Sun had previously tried to combine art and the crypto community. When the concept of NFT was popular in 2021, he donated Picassos Nude with Necklace, crypto artist Beeples Oceans Front, ABUNBANCE (5 pieces), and crypto artist Paks entire set of NFT works Cube to the APENFT Foundation. The total value of these masterpieces exceeds 200 million yuan, all of which are used for the APENFT Foundations exploration of art + blockchain.
The banana, which cost $6.24 million, was certainly expensive, but it successfully attracted global attention.
2025 is the year of crypto
In Justin Sun’s mind, “Banana Holder” is just an amateur label, and his other recently added title “World’s Free Financial Advisor and Largest Investor in Crypto Projects” has also received widespread attention.
Public reports show that Justin Sun invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), becoming the projects largest investor.
When asked why he invested in WLFI, Justin Sun said: I have been in this industry for 12 years and have experienced three cycles. Many people may think that our industry may not have enough technological development and many things, and we still need mass adoption. People often ask questions, what are you doing and what is the use? I have the opposite view. I think our industry technology and everything are ready. Its just that there have been many regulatory reasons that have prevented us from using them and have restricted their use.
In Sun Yuchens view, the stablecoin on TRON is the most typical case. The innovation of stablecoin technology is far beyond that of banks and Swift, but it is still restricted in many places.
“After all, I understand crypto, so I can share with WLFI a lot of information about how crypto thinks, what directions are easiest to take, and how to get the most customers. We have a strong synergy between the two sides.” The World Free Finance project is a combination of traditional finance and blockchain, hoping that traditional banks can deposit money into DeFi, and that DeFi money can also enter traditional finance.
“I think with WLFI, DeFi, including TRON, can enter everyone’s life. This is one of my dreams.”
I think 2025 is indeed a big year. The four-year cycle of the crypto industry is very obvious. Now it is superimposed with Trumps election and a regulatory-friendly environment. But I wont predict the price, because sometimes the price will exceed your expectations. Sun Yuchen recalled that he bought $0.5 worth of Bitcoin on Taobao. In the era when people were not sensitive to prices, everyone thought it was crazy when it rose to 10 yuan.
Source: PANews
Original link: www.panewslab.com/zh/articledetails/icze 1 jmv.html
