Justin Sun bought Comedian $Ban for $6.2 million. Is it still worth buying?

Jessy, Golden Finance

On November 20, local time, TRON founder Justin Sun purchased the iconic work Comedian Banana by artist Maurizio Cattelan for $6.2 million.

The artwork is indeed a real banana. Many people may not understand why Justin Sun spent a huge price to buy a banana.

According to Justin Sun’s own explanation, “This is not only a work of art, but also a cultural phenomenon that connects art, meme culture and the cryptocurrency community.”

Comedian Banana has indeed become a part of crypto culture. In the currency circle, the Meme $Ban (Comedian) with Comedian Banana artwork as the target has been created.

After the news of Justin Sun's purchase of Comedian came out, $Ban rose by about 20% in five minutes, and its market value exceeded $230 million in a short period of time. However, as of press time, the price of the token has fallen by 30% from the previous day.

A $6.2 million marketing campaign

Sun Yuchen took the work Comedian Banana, which is a work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. This is a work composed of fresh bananas taped to the wall with cloth tape.

Originally, Maurizio Cattelan created it for an art fair in 2019. At that time, Maurizio Cattelan bought these bananas at a grocery store in Miami for about thirty cents. The work is accompanied by a certificate of work and detailed correct display instructions for the owner to use when displaying the work. Both the banana and the tape can be replaced as needed.

The gallery owner who exhibited the work once commented on this work: "A symbol of global trade, a pun, and a classic humorous device."

Maurizio Cattelan's main feature of art is humor. Some of his previous masterpieces include: "America" ​​in 2016 - a fully functional golden toilet.

Comedian also caused controversy. The Guardian called it "a work of incredible genius. ... It reminds people of Lucille Bluth's old joke in "Arrested Development" about rich people not knowing the price of bananas. "Artnet" wrote that this work was one of the worst works of the week. Cattelan "somehow deceived a group of collectors into buying bananas stuck to the wall for $120,000 each. USA Today sneered: "This artwork is a banana - literally."

There are also many voices of praise. Noah Charney said in his 2021 book "The Devil in the Gallery" that "Comedian is neither beautiful nor skillful, so it represents the line of Duchampism." Author Brian C. Nixon said in his book "Beauty (and the Banana)" that "Comedian is, to say the least, a comment on the wild world of contemporary art, conveying how culture understands, interprets and interacts with art."

Art is difficult to understand, but among the people everyone has begun to use this banana to make fun of it, and even Musk made fun of it on X a few years ago.

After the birth of the Comedian Banana, there was no shortage of buyers interested in it. A total of three versions of the work were issued. Two of them were sold at the Basel Art Fair for $120,000.

Sun Ge is not short of money. According to the New York Times, he beat six other competitors to buy this work. In an interview with the New York Times, he said, "In the next few days, I will eat this banana myself as part of this unique art experience to commemorate its place in art history and popular culture. ”

Sun Ge was not interested in the investment value of the banana, but spent $6.2 million on marketing. His goal was achieved, and well-known media in China and abroad reported on this purchase.

Comedian has become a part of the currency circle culture, but $Ban is not worth buying

Comedian has become a part of the currency circle Meme coin culture. Sun Ge spent a lot of money to buy this banana, which also promoted the encryption culture.

Meme coin $Ban was created based on this artwork, and Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna deployed it on the solana chain through pump.fun.

After the news that Sun Yuchen bought Comedian came out, $Ban rose 20% in the short term.

At a time when memes are popular, choosing a meme that can make money is a test of one's ability. Ban is an art meme, not a new concept. But its advantage is that famous people call for orders. The project was first issued by Michael Bouhanna, vice president of Sotheby's. According to the early coin holding address of the project, his holdings reached 3.78%.

And Musk, the king of meme sales, also called for Ban, and he once forwarded news related to $Ban.

This time, it was Justin Sun who joined and spent a lot of money to buy Comedian. However, there is a joke in the market, "When Brother Sun enters the market, it means that this track will end in a short period of time. "According to the on-chain information, Sun Ge has not yet shown any signs of buying $Ban.

At present, Meme Coin as a whole has experienced a certain correction. Some popular projects a week ago, such as PNUT and ACT, have almost halved from their highest points.

At present, Bitcoin continues to break new highs, altcoins lie on the ground motionless, and the hot Meme is also cooling down. Excluding stablecoins, Bitcoin accounts for as much as 70% of the total market value of the entire crypto market.

Bitcoin is about to break through 100,000 US dollars, and a correction is imminent. It is not recommended to buy the hyped Meme at this time.