A conceptual artwork by Maurizio Cattelan, “Comedian,” is just a fruit-stand banana taped on the wall. But 7 bidders were biting. It went to a crypto entrepreneur.

Turns out that crypto bros love “Comedian,” Maurizio Cattelan’s now-infamous work consisting of a banana with duct tape, a spoof of art-world capitalism.

A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who identified himself as the buyer of a viral artwork depicting a yellow banana duct-taped to a wall said he will eat the fruit as part of a “unique artistic experience.

Beyond the headline-grabbing sales of the fall auction season, the market tries to soar beyond its two-year slump.

This year has seen some of the worst sales in decades for the art market, and the “Comedian” piece is unlikely to move the needle one way or the other.

The buyer, China-born crypto entrepreneur and Justin Sun, spent $6.2 million on the piece by artist Maurizio Cattelan Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.

A banana duct-taped to a white wall — or an acclaimed piece of art, depending on how you look at it — sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $US6.24 ($A9.57) million on Wednesday. Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian is comprised simply of a banana stuck to the wall with a strip of silver duct tape and is hung exactly 160cm from the floor.

A piece of art that is little more than a banana duct-taped to a wall sold at auction for $6.2 million on Wednesday to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, Sotheby's said, furthering the universal conversation about what constitutes art.

Here's what happened when Sotheby's auctioned off Maurizio Cattelan's duct-taped banana on Wednesday evening in New York.

Justin Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON, bought a duct-taped banana artwork entitled “Comedian” for millions of dollars.