Justin Sun, who runs the Tron blockchain network, outbid six others last week to win Comedian, a conceptual artwork created by Maurizio Cattelan which consists of a single banana taped to a wall.

The banana in question was fresh, and came with both a certificate of authenticity and instructions for how to replace the banana when it begins to rot.

After winning the auction, he promised to eat the banana – which he did at a press conference in Hong Kong today.

Previous instalments of the artwork have also been eaten in 2019 and 2023, though neither of the consumers in those cases had paid for the artwork.

“It’s much better than other bananas,” Mr Sun said.