What’s worth millions, taped to a wall, and destined to rot? Hint: It’s art you can’t hang for long.

Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous duct-taped banana art piece, Comedian, fetched an eye-popping $6.24 million, including fees, at Sotheby’s contemporary art auction in New York on Wednesday night.

The sale saw six bidders battle it out before Jen Hua, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s and chairman of Sotheby’s China, placed the winning bid on Tron founder Justin Sun’s behalf. 

The artwork shattered its $1.5 million pre-sale estimate and became its place as one of the most expensive—and controversial—art pieces (or should we say fruit) ever.

Sotheby’s accepted crypto payments for this sale as the market is seeing new heights following Donald Trump’s re-election, with Bitcoin (BTC) soaring to $97,000 on Wednesday.

The crypto entrepreneur, Sun, claimed the artwork in a heated five-minute bidding war that involved six other participants. 

“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun wrote on X, sharing his “banana” experience. 

He announced plans to eat the banana in the coming days as part of what he described as “honoring its place in both art history and popular culture.”

The artwork comprises a real banana affixed to a wall with duct tape, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and instructions for replacing the fruit as it inevitably decays. 

During the heated auction, Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker quipped, “These are the words I never thought I’d say, ‘$5 million for a banana.’”

The banana’s rise to infamy in the art scene began in 2019 when one sold for $120,000 at Art Basel. The work became a viral sensation after performance artist David Datuna ate the banana, dubbing his act “Hungry Artist.”

Since then, Comedian has sparked conversations about the absurdity and subjectivity of art valuation.

Justin Sun founded the blockchain platform Tron in 2017. In December 2021, he stepped down as CEO of the Tron Foundation, claiming he had transferred control of the project to Tron DAO, a non-profit decentralized autonomous organization.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

The golden arches are getting a pastel makeover for the holiday season.

Fast food giant McDonald’s and Web3-native brand Doodles revealed a collaboration Thursday, featuring custom cups that showcase the Ethereum NFT collection’s colorful, hand drawn style. On top of that, customers can unlock digital collectibles and content, as well as access co-branded physical merchandise.

Dubbed the “GM Spread Joy” campaign, the marketing initiative is being billed as an immersive experience that pays homage to the Crypto Twitter mantra. Available to customers in the U.S., the promotion can be accessed at participating stores among McDonald’s 13,500 restaurants.

The limited-edition cups, emblazoned with pinks and blues amid holiday-themed tableaus, allow customers to access a “pack ripping” experience, McDonald’s said in a press release.

Dovetailing with Doodles’ digital avatars, they contain accessories and apparel for Doodles characters, among other goodies, like access to music videos and Doodles’ animated series. In addition to the original Ethereum NFT collection, Doodles has launched an avatar creation “Stoodio” app on Ethereum layer-2 network Base, where the digital items can be used.

Outside the U.S., where NFT projects haven’t faced intense regulatory scrutiny, the burger chain has used NFTs to promote its purple icon Grimace and launched a metaverse game called My Happy Place. What’s more, McDonald’s tapped The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse game, to pay tribute to its chicken nuggets.

McDonald’s collaboration with Doodles may represent its biggest step into the NFT space since its American division unveiled McRib-inspired NFTs in 2021. Effectively, McDonald’s was an early adopter of using digital assets as a way to reward customers and cultivate brand loyalty.

Earlier this year, Doodles teamed up with the sportswear powerhouse Adidas, introducing virtual swag packs that let buyers claim exclusive physical apparel. As Doodles’ Chief Brand Officer, some collectibles paid homage to a song created with musician Pharrell Williams.

As part of its holiday promotion, McDonald’s customers can access a track produced by Williams called “Good Mornin,” sung by artist Marley Bleu. Williams, who once worked at McDonald’s, was inspired by internet culture and “viral ‘GM’ memes,” McDonald’s said.

Comprising 10,000 generative profile pictures (PFPs), Doodles features art by Scott “Burnt Toast” Martin. The collection is currently valued at 20,296 ETH ($64 million), according to CoinGecko, with the cheapest NFT from the collection listed for 2 ETH ($6,300) on secondary markets.

Known as the collection’s floor price, the figure climbed as high as 2.7 ETH ($8,500) earlier this week after McDonald’s teased the collaboration on Twitter (aka X).

Edited by Andrew Hayward

Sixteen years ago today, the Bitcoin whitepaper was released by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Now, a British-Asian macroeconomist claims that he is the elusive creator of the leading cryptocurrency, as he revealed Thursday at a small event in London.

On Wednesday, a press release was blasted to journalists, claiming that “a live demonstration” would be conducted to “conclusively” prove that the real Satoshi has been identified. The event was held at the Frontline Club, a prestigious pub in London that insisted it is not affiliated with the event, costing £500 a ticket—with tweeted event photos suggesting that only a handful of people ultimately attended.

Stephen Mollah took the stage claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, Joe Tidy of BBC News reported on Twitter. Mollah told the audience that he had previously attempted to out himself as the creator of Bitcoin, but “someone stopped him”. He also claimed that he was later interviewed by the BBC, yet they did not publish the story.

As the event dragged on for an hour, those in attendance reportedly grew restless as Mollah delayed in showing his evidence—claiming he couldn’t get his laptop working. Eventually, the man pulled up “easy to fake screenshots,” the BBC journalist said.

Charles Anderson, the organizer of the event and “PR manager for Satoshi Nakamoto” according to his LinkedIn, claims to have seen “cryptographic” evidence that Mollah is the real deal—but this was not presented to attendees.

One way that Mollah could prove that he is Satoshi is by moving Bitcoin from the Genesis block. Mollah claimed that he will do that at a later date during a “proper, official press conference.”

“Genesis block Bitcoin cannot be moved as simply as you think,” Mollah told the BBC journalist in the crowd. “It can be moved, but I need to prepare for it. I’ll do it. Very soon.”

At the event, Mollah also claimed to have created the Twitter logo, ChatGPT, and the Eurobond, a type of debt.

Mollah’s LinkedIn account lists the Bitcoin whitepaper as one of his publications, claims that he has patented Bitcoin and blockchain technology, and states that he is an executive director of Coinbase Limited. 

However, he is not listed on the centralized exchange’s board of directors, and Coinbase did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

“I am an innovator in the financial technology. I am known by my Japanese pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. I am the inventor of Bitcoin and blockchain technology,” Mollah’s LinkedIn says. “I am not a Japanese man. I am a British-Asian macroeconomist.”

On Twitter, Mollah has also been sounding this siren from as early as 2014, posting that “there is no any other Satoshi Nakamoto beside me.” In 2018, he posted a spree of tweets calling out all of the “Faketoshis” out there. 

The search for Satoshi has raged on for as long as Bitcoin has been in circulation. Recently, an HBO documentary claimed that the elusive crypto creator was Bitcoin core developer Peter Todd, who has denied the claims—and many Bitcoiners were skeptical of the evidence.

Mollah said that he aimed to put an end to the ongoing speculation Thursday.

“Today, I just wanted to say that it is me, I am here. And I am going to publish, very soon, the documentation that the people need, the journalists need,” he told the audience. “They must stop searching for Satoshi Nakamoto, online or offline, anywhere in the world. Because there is no other Satoshi Nakamoto besides me.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward