Banana sticks to the wall, art and fruit combination concept. Can the meme coin Ban take off?
Both riding on "Sotheby's auction" and "SpaceX Starship."Author: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily
This morning, Sun Yuchen 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 that connects the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this work will inspire more thoughts and discussions in the future and become a part of history."
The auction scene of Cattelan's banana at Sotheby's
Following this news, according to GMGN data, the Meme coin Ban, which is based on Cattelan's banana and launched on Binance contracts, surged about 20% within five minutes, with its market cap briefly exceeding $230 million. However, due to the overall price correction in the Meme sector, Ban has currently fallen back to $175 million.
Previously, Elon Musk retweeted a photo of a large banana sculpture alongside SpaceX's Starship posted by Polaris's content director, responding with a "laugh-cry" emoji, which may have contributed to Ban's brief surge of nearly 20%.
Elon Musk retweeted a photo of a large banana sculpture alongside SpaceX's Starship
Additionally, 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 subsequently deposited into Kucoin; the wallet G13si…zWCdu deposited $2.28 million worth of BAN into GATE, with the required SOL for the transfer provided by GSR.
Withdrawing 1.5 million BAN from Gate and MEXC, with some subsequently deposited into Kucoin
Riding on Sotheby's auction, leveraging SpaceX's Starship, launching on Binance, and GSR Markets as a market maker, Meme coin Ban frequently attracts high attention and buzz. With multiple buffs combined, what will its momentum be? Next, Odaily Planet Daily will explore the ins and outs of Ban.
Sotheby's Vice President Releases Meme Coin Ban from Personal Address, Caught Red-Handed
On the evening of October 25, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna announced on X platform that the artwork "banana and duct tape" would be auctioned at Sotheby's. Shortly after, users discovered that the personal address he posted had issued the related Meme coin Ban, causing its market cap to rapidly rise to $7 million.
Michael Bouhanna announced that the artwork "banana and duct tape" would be auctioned at Sotheby's
However, shortly after, Michael Bouhanna deleted the post about his personal address, causing Ban to drop 85% temporarily. Nevertheless, as Ban is a Meme coin with an art and fruit concept, it quickly spread within the community, and its market cap continued to climb.
Lookonchain's monitoring data on October 27 shows that a user turned $1,795 into $873,000 by trading Ban in just two days, achieving a return of 490 times. He did not panic-sell all his assets at once but gradually sold portions after each rise to avoid missing the rebound.
However, on October 27, according to Lookonchain's monitoring, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna used his wallet "5W7U…b3cV" (which he had publicly commented as his personal address, and the post has been deleted) to launch a Meme coin named Ban. Although he was pressured to destroy all 37.36 million Ban in the wallet, analysis revealed that he had purchased Ban using an internal wallet and profited over $1 million. After this news spread, Ban's market cap dropped 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’s a project I deployed, but I never sold
A week later, the principal admitted that Ban was a project he personally deployed. On November 4, Sotheby's Vice President Michael Bouhanna posted on X platform stating that recent rumors about the meme token BAN he created had flooded the internet, leading to widespread misunderstandings and misinformation.
Moreover, Bouhanna clarified that the BAN token was a project he initiated out of personal interest on the Pump.Fun platform, completely unrelated to his position at Sotheby's, and Sotheby's was not involved. The project was initially released anonymously, and he did not anticipate the rapid growth driven by the community, nor did he promote or encourage others to buy. Bouhanna pointed out that the idea for Ban came from his understanding of the artwork "Comedian," using the token to make a satirical comment on the meme-driven crypto market. Additionally, he emphasized that recent rumors claiming he profited $1 million from the project were entirely false, that the related wallet was not his, and that the vast majority of the profits were unrealized value.
With Michael Bouhanna's acknowledgment, the discussion atmosphere in the Ban community became even more lively, generating many "ideas" for Ban's spread. On one hand, the Ban token represents an interesting experiment of capital on-chain, containing the essence of global art culture, and is itself "a banana," a brand new Meme coin with an art + fruit concept; on the other hand, the Ban token also signifies the beginning of a new round of memes, bringing more Web2 traffic to Web3.
Is it still worth investing in Ban now?
Today, with Sun Yuchen successfully bidding for "Comedian," the short-term hype may see a significant decline, and in recent days, most popular memes have experienced price corrections of over 30%. The current trend direction is highly uncertain.
However, as a Meme coin, the image of "banana on the wall" makes it easy for Ban to spread. Moreover, having leveraged both "Sotheby's auction" and "SpaceX Starship," Ban maintains a sustained discussion heat, making it likely to be mentioned again in the future. Therefore, personally, I believe Ban is worth adding to the "watchlist of Meme coins," keeping an eye on and analyzing large addresses buying Ban daily, as there may be opportunities for a "second entry."
