Tanahub.com — The world was taken aback by the quirky artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan: a banana duct-taped to a wall with gray tape.
What’s even more surprising is that this artwork, titled “Comedian”, sold at an auction in New York for $6.2 million, nearly IDR 100 billion.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve bought the banana🍌 !!! @SpaceX @Sothebys I am Justin Sun, and I’m excited to share that I have successfully acquired Maurizio Cattelan’s iconic work, Comedian for $6.2 million. This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon… pic.twitter.com/lAj1RE6y0C
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) November 21, 2024
The buyer? None other than crypto billionaire Justin Sun. Who is he?
Early Life of Justin Sun
Justin Sun was born on July 30, 1990, in Xining, China. From a young age, he had a strong interest in technology and business. However, he ended up studying history at Peking University, graduating in 2011.
Sun then pursued further studies and earned a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. It was during his time here that he developed an interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
His involvement in crypto began in 2013 when he joined Ripple Labs as a Chief Representative and Advisor.
A year later, he took a leap of faith by founding Peiwo, an audio-based social networking app similar to Snapchat, which successfully garnered over 10 million users in China.
The app offered various channels to help users connect with others sharing similar interests, from online gaming to live streaming.
The Man Behind TRON
Sun’s life took a major turn in 2017 when he founded the decentralized platform TRON. During its initial coin offering (ICO) for the TRX token, TRON raised $70 million, reflecting the community’s high enthusiasm.
TRON is a blockchain platform designed to revolutionize digital content distribution and entertainment through decentralized technology. The platform connects content creators, developers, and consumers directly, eliminating intermediaries.
TRON is known for its emphasis on transparency, accessibility, and decentralization, aiming to create an open internet that empowers both creators and consumers. Justin Sun cemented his position as the CEO of the TRON Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the TRON network.
In June 2018, TRON acquired BitTorrent, which was later renamed Rainberry Inc., for $140 million to integrate a larger user base into its ecosystem. Sun became CEO and introduced its utility token, BTT.
He also acquired the Poloniex crypto exchange, which suffered a hacking incident in 2023. Sun has also been appointed as a global advisory board member for the Huobi exchange, now rebranded as HTX.
Stepping Into Diplomacy
At 31, Sun stepped down as TRON’s CEO after obtaining citizenship in Grenada, a small nation in the Caribbean.
He was appointed as Grenada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, serving from 2021 to 2023.
In 2024, still as a citizen of Grenada, Sun was elected the Prime Minister of Liberland in an election held on October 5. Liberland is a microstate located between Croatia and Serbia in Europe, where its citizens have adopted blockchain in daily life.
On several occasions, Sun has stated that his role as a diplomat and head of state remains focused on introducing innovation in the digital sector, such as blockchain and crypto, aligning with his vision to promote decentralized technology adoption.
A Man Full of Controversies
Controversies have always surrounded this 34-year-old figure, further cementing his fame in the crypto industry.
In 2020, Sun was sued by two of his employees at the TRON Foundation, Lukasz Juraszek and Richard Hall, over allegations of fraud.
In 2022, Sun was reportedly under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York over undisclosed criminal cases.
In March 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Justin Sun for allegedly selling unregistered securities. Sun was accused of selling and promoting TRX and BTT tokens as unregistered securities.
This case also implicated several celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan and Akon, who were reported to have promoted TRX and BTT.
Additionally, the SEC accused Sun of market manipulation or wash trading by artificially inflating the prices of TRX and BTT tokens in the secondary market.
His latest controversy, of course, involves the audacious purchase of the “Comedian” banana artwork for an exorbitant price. With a net worth of $1.4 billion this year, equivalent to IDR 22 trillion, spending IDR 100 billion on a banana taped to a wall might seem trivial to him.
Rumor has it that Justin Sun plans to eat the banana himself.