Comedian

Comedian (ticker BAN) is a Solana memecoin themed on Maurizio Cattelan's 2019 artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall.^[1] The Block described it as the largest unaffiliated Comedian-themed memecoin; its market cap was near $241 million before Tron founder Justin Sun bought an edition of the work for $6.24 million at Sotheby's on 20 November 2024.^[1]

Lore[edit]

The artwork is a banana fixed to a wall with grey duct tape, sold as a certificate of authenticity with display instructions, so the fruit and tape can be replaced.^[1] The copy sold in New York was number 2 in an edition of three, against an estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million; Sotheby's deputy chairman Jen Hua placed the winning bid for Sun.^[1]

BAN fell 37% once the bid was confirmed, from about $241 million to a low of $151 million, before recovering to about $175 million at $0.175.^[1] A second Comedian-themed token launched the day before the auction collapsed from a theoretical $23.5 billion market cap to $281.^[1] KuCoin listed BAN on 18 November 2024 and published its contract address, which carries the "pump" suffix of pump.fun tokens.^[2]

On 29 November 2024 Sun ate the banana during a press event at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong.^[3] BAN then stood at a $138 million market cap, while a rival token, BTW ("Banana Tape Wall"), was at $1.7 million.^[3]

Timeline[edit]

• 2024-11-18: KuCoin listing (BAN/USDT)^[2]
• 2024-11-20: Sun wins the Sotheby's auction; BAN falls 37% from about $241 million^[1]
• 2024-11-29: Sun eats the banana in Hong Kong; BAN at $138 million^[3]

See also[edit]

• Useless Coin
• Housecoin
• Chillhouse
• Butthole Coin
• Launch Coin
• Unipcs

References[edit]

1. ^ Justin Sun enters the banana zone with $6.2 million purchase of 'Comedian' artwork, The Block, 2024-11-21
2. ^ Comedian (BAN) Gets Listed on KuCoin!, KuCoin, 2024-11-18
3. ^ Inflation? Justin Sun Eats Banana He Bought for $6.2 Million, Decrypt, 2024-11-29