Riding on both the 'Sotheby's auction' and 'SpaceX starship'.

Written by: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily

This morning, Justin Sun announced the purchase of Maurizio Cattelan's iconic work 'Comedian' for $6.2 million, commenting that 'this is not just a piece of art, it represents a cultural phenomenon, connecting the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this work will inspire more thinking and discussions in the future and become a part of history.'

Sotheby's Cattelan banana auction site

Following this news, according to GMGN data, the meme coin Ban, with Cattelan's banana as the background and listed on Binance contracts, rose about 20% in five minutes, with its market value briefly surpassing $230 million, but due to the overall price correction in the meme sector, Ban has now fallen back to $175 million.

Ban K line chart

Previously, Elon Musk retweeted a photo of a large banana sculpture alongside the SpaceX starship, published by the Polaris content director, and responded with a 'laugh crying' emoji, which may have caused Ban to rise nearly 20% temporarily.

Elon Musk retweeted a photo of a large banana sculpture alongside the SpaceX starship on X

Moreover, GSR Markets may be the market maker for the meme token BAN. According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi's monitoring, the GSR wallet GNjGn...4iBW4 (marked by Arkham) withdrew 1.5 million BAN from Gate and MEXC on November 18, with some later deposited into Kucoin; wallet G13si...zWCdu deposited $2.28 million worth of BAN into GATE, and the SOL required for the transfer was provided by GSR.

Withdrawn 1.5 million BAN from Gate and MEXC, some of which were later deposited into Kucoin

Riding on Sotheby's auction, SpaceX starship launch, listing on Binance, GSR Markets making a market, etc., the meme coin Ban frequently triggers high heat and attention, gathering multiple buffs, what is its potential? Next, Odaily Planet Daily will explore the origins and developments of Ban.

Sotheby's Vice President published the meme coin Ban on his personal address and was caught.

On the evening of October 25, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna announced on X that the artwork 'banana and duct tape' will be auctioned at Sotheby's. Users then discovered that the personal address he released had issued the related meme coin Ban, and its market value quickly surged to $7 million.

Michael Bouhanna stated that the artwork 'banana and duct tape' will be auctioned at Sotheby's

However, shortly after, Michael Bouhanna deleted the personal address post, causing Ban to drop 85% temporarily. Yet, Ban is a meme coin with the concept of art plus fruit, and the community spread rapidly, leading to a continuous rise in its market value.

Lookonchain monitored data on October 27 showing that a certain user traded Ban with $1,795 and gained $873,000 in just two days, achieving a return rate of 490 times. He did not panic-sell all his assets at once but gradually sold a portion after each rise to avoid missing the rebound.

However, on October 27, according to Lookonchain monitoring, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna used his wallet '5W7U...b3cV' (which he publicly commented as his personal address, now deleted) to launch a meme coin called Ban. Although he has destroyed all 37.36 million Ban in his wallet due to pressure, analysis found that he purchased Ban using an internal wallet and profited over $1 million. After this news spread, Ban's market value fell from a peak of $100 million to $10 million in the following two days, with a maximum decline of over 90%.

Sotheby's Vice President: It is the project I deployed, but I have not sold it

A week later, the main person admitted that Ban is a project he personally deployed. On November 4, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna posted on X that recent rumors about the meme token BAN he created have flooded the internet, leading to widespread misunderstanding and misinformation.

Furthermore, Bouhanna clarified that the BAN token is a project he initiated on the Pump.Fun platform out of personal interest, completely unrelated to his position at Sotheby's, and Sotheby's was not involved. The project was initially released anonymously, not anticipating the rapid growth driven by the community, nor did it promote or encourage others to buy. Bouhanna pointed out that the idea of Ban came from his understanding of the artwork 'Comedian', making a satirical comment on the meme-driven cryptocurrency market through the token. Additionally, he emphasized that recent rumors claiming he profited $1 million from the project are entirely false, that the relevant wallet is not owned by him, and that the vast majority of the profits are unrealized value.

As a result, after Michael Bouhanna's admission, the discussion atmosphere in the Ban community became even more lively, generating many 'ideas' for the spread of Ban. On one hand, the Ban token is an interesting experiment of capital on-chain, containing the connotation of world art culture, and it is also 'a banana', a brand new meme coin concept combining art and fruit; on the other hand, the Ban token represents the beginning of a new wave of memes, bringing more Web2 traffic to Web3.

Is it still worth investing in Ban now?

Today, with Justin Sun successfully bidding for 'Comedian', short-term speculation heat may significantly decrease, and in recent days, most popular memes have seen price corrections of over 30%. The current trend direction remains highly uncertain.

However, as a meme coin, the image of 'banana taped to the wall' can easily spread Ban. Moreover, Ban, which capitalizes on both 'Sotheby's auction' and 'SpaceX starship', has a sustained discussion heat, making it likely to be mentioned again in the future. Therefore, for me personally, Ban is worth adding to the 'self-selected meme observation list', paying more attention daily and analyzing addresses with significant Ban purchases, as there might be 'second entry' opportunities.