For most art-world buyers, a work unsubtly called “Comedian” lacked a certain a-peel. But on Wednesday, Cattelan got the last laugh as “Comedian” sold for $6.24 million, including $1 million in fees. The buyer was soon revealed to be Justin Sun, a 34-year old cryptocurrency platform founder from China and based in Switzerland. And while some who have capitalized on those assets will inevitably purchase art, artworks themselves have their own rates of return that depend more on evolutions in taste that don’t correlate with wider macroeconomic trends. Sun, the “Comedian” buyer, used his own cryptocurrency, TRX, to make the purchase, Sotheby’s said.

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Persons: ”, Maurizio Cattelan, Cattelan, Justin Sun, Sun, ” Sun, ” David Galperin, Sun’s, Alex Glauber, “, ” Glauber, Leonardo da Vinci’s “ Salvatore Mundi ”, Glauber, Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp, Jianping Mei, Michael Moses, JP Mei, ” Moses, “ It’s, Moses, Sotheby’s, CoinMarketCap, Robb, Robert Allen Organizations: Basel, Association of Professional Art Advisors, The New York Times, Moses Art Market Consultancy, NBC News, Sun Locations: Italian, Miami, China, Switzerland, Americas, South Florida, millennials, Europe, South America