Justin Sun Demands Banana Article Removed
Date: 2024-12-19 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
According to Fortune on December 18, Tron founder Justin Sun's team has reached out to Bullish, the cryptocurrency exchange that bought CoinDesk for $75 million last year, to remove an article about him eating a banana from a $6.2 million Maurizio Cattelan art piece.
The article, titled "I Saw Justin Sun Eat the World's Most Expensive Banana. I Don't Understand It," was published in late November. It explained the context of the event, the significance of the banana itself, and also mentioned Sun's legal troubles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Sources told Fortune that Sun’s team didn’t like the tone of the article, prompting Bullish to demand that it be removed from CoinDesk. This caused an uproar among CoinDesk editors, who last week insisted that the article be reinstated with an editorial note.
According to a crypto.news search, the article is no longer available on CoinDesk, but a copy is still hosted on Yahoo News, last updated on December 2.
Interestingly, the article also cited a history of legal threats against media outlets by Sun’s legal team, particularly for stories that hint at the use of the Tron blockchain for illegal activities. It’s also worth noting that Tron is a major sponsor of CoinDesk’s Consensus conference.
Bullish CEO Tom Farley did not respond to Fortune’s requests for comment, as did CoinDesk editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds and a representative for Justin Sun.
Additionally, Matt Murray, the chairman of CoinDesk’s editorial committee, was reportedly leaving on December 16. However, Murray himself declined to comment.
Recall that Bullish acquired CoinDesk from Digital Currency Group in November 2023, which raised concerns about the publication's editorial independence. At the same time, Murray, the former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, was appointed chairman of CoinDesk's editorial committee.
