Justin Solar, founding father of TRON and Poloniex CEO, has bought the viral artwork piece Comic—a banana duct-taped to a wall—for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s.
Following the acquisition, Solar introduced on X (previously Twitter) that he plans to eat the paintings. This has ignited a frenzy of memes, commentary, and market reactions, even inflicting the crypto token Banana Gun to spike in worth.
Crypto Reacts: Banana Gun on the Rise
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comic gained worldwide fame in 2019 when it was first displayed at Artwork Basel Miami. Its simplicity and absurdity—a banana taped to a wall—sparked debates in regards to the nature of artwork. The so-called paintings grew to become viral when efficiency artist David Datuna ate it in a stunt dubbed Hungry Artist.
Solar’s pledge to eat the $6.2 million fruit has additionally drawn parallels, including one other layer of humor to the piece’s historical past. The Tron founder even stated he’s prepared to donate the banana to Elon Musk and ship it to Mars.
In the meantime, a number of customers even recreated their very own model of Comic and shared it on social media. One fan adopted up by taping bananas across the Massachusetts Institute of Expertise (MIT) campus, encouraging others to “tape everywhere in the world” and begin a motion.
What they’re campaigning for, exactly, stays to be seen.
“Within the coming days, I’ll personally eat the banana as a part of this distinctive creative expertise, honoring its place in each artwork historical past and fashionable tradition. Keep tuned,” Solar stated on X.
The ripple results of Solar’s buy ultimately trickled past the confines of artwork and humor and into crypto markets. The token Banana Gun, which shares its identify with the theme, surged almost 16% following the information. Merchants and fanatics, ever attuned to cultural moments, seem to have seized the prospect to capitalize on the excitement.
Solar’s acquisition and the banana’s virality call to mind one other current growth within the art-crypto nexus. Earlier this week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin allegedly minted 400 Patron NFTs. This growth sparked hopes of a resurgence for the NFT market.
This aged nicely…. $BANANA is an insane undertaking. For me, that is in the identical league as $ZIG. Fundamentals are actually insane. Irrespective of which narrative will prepare dinner subsequent, $BANANA will revenue from it,” stated one dealer on X.
The mixture of Solar’s high-profile buy and the market’s response to Banana Gun demonstrates how artwork, humor, and expertise proceed to blur boundaries. Whether or not Solar’s banana-eating spectacle will go away an enduring affect or peel away (pun meant) into meme historical past, one factor is for certain—the intersection of crypto and tradition stays as sudden as ever.
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