Kanye West, known to many as Ye, recently jumped into the world of cryptocurrency. He launched his YZY token on the Solana blockchain. What promised to be a “new economy” for his followers quickly turned into a financial mess. This token, unveiled last Thursday on his X account, shot up in value, hitting a peak of $3.16. Its market value reached an astonishing $3 billion within hours. Yet, the excitement was short-lived. In less than a day, YZY plunged by 75%, settling around $0.73. This left many everyday investors with huge losses.
The rapid crash appears to have benefited a select few. A group of “snipers” and “insiders” seemingly worked together, pocketing millions in profit. These quick gains came at the expense of thousands of smaller investors who saw their money disappear. The YZY project, according to its official website, aimed to be more than just another internet coin. It featured a payment system called “Ye Pay” and a special card for global transactions using YZY and USDC stablecoins.
The “Yeezy Money” (YZY) concept described itself as a fresh financial system. It claimed to empower users without central authorities. It was meant to be a show of support for Ye’s brand, not a speculative investment. This message rings hollow given Ye’s past comments. Just months ago, in February, he strongly criticized memecoins. He called them “scams that prey on fans with exaggerated hype.” He even said he turned down $2 million to promote a fake crypto coin named “Ye.” This sudden shift in his stance raised many eyebrows.
YZY’s debut was incredibly rocky, much like other celebrity memecoins or tokens without real backing on networks like Solana. Blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain found that several internal wallets bought the token right after it launched. One wallet, in particular, made over $1.5 million by selling tokens bought with insider knowledge. Lookonchain pointed out that this wallet “knew the contract address beforehand” and even tried to buy the day before. They also criticized the token’s liquidity setup. It only used YZY, without pairing it with USDC. This setup makes it easy for developers or large holders to pull out funds quickly, similar to the controversial LIBRA token.
Further data from Nansen painted an even bleaker picture. Thirteen major wallets pulled out a total of $24.5 million by selling during the initial price surge. Over 56,000 wallets had traded YZY, but only nine of the top 99 still held positions. Bubblemaps, another analytics firm, called the situation “worse than we thought.” They identified early buyers as an “elite group of snipers who coordinate rather than compete.” These analysts noted one buyer had used a similar strategy with the TRUMP token, earning millions. Conor Grogan from Coinbase estimated that more than 94% of the initial supply was held by insiders. One single wallet controlled a whopping 87% of the total.
Even controversial figures like Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing champion and social media influencer, weren’t safe from the fallout. Reports show a wallet linked to Tate opened a leveraged “short” position on YZY. He bet against the token at $0.85, resulting in a $16,000 loss from that single trade. Lookonchain reported that Tate has made 80 trades on Hyperliquid, with only a 36.25% success rate. His total losses are nearing $700,000. The analysts jokingly noted he “does not seem to be good at perp trading.” This adds to previous accusations against Tate. He was accused of insider trading in his own memecoin, DADDY, where insiders allegedly hoarded 30% of the supply before he promoted it.
The YZY story is not unique. Many celebrities have launched memecoins on Solana, including 50 Cent, Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, and Ronaldinho. Most of these projects crashed soon after their launch. This latest event highlights the serious risks tied to celebrity-driven memecoins. These include extreme price swings, potential market manipulation, and a concentration of tokens in just a few hands.
YZY continues to attract attention, with a trading volume of $31 million in 24 hours and a current market value of about $734 million, according to GMGN.AI. But serious questions about transparency remain. Ye has not yet responded to these concerns. The future of the project, especially the unlocking of the 70% supply controlled by Yeezy Investments LLC, could lead to even more instability.
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