Kanye West’s much-hyped leap into crypto didn’t go quite as fans expected. Within hours of launching the YZY token on Thursday morning, all chatter circled around the rapper. In under an hour, the token shot up to a mind-boggling market cap of $3 billion and just as fast slid back down to about $1 billion market cap.
These moves have incited traders who are now wondering if the game was rigged from the very start.
A Rapid Rise and an Even Faster Fall
West announced the launch by posting the contract address and website for Yeezy Money on his X account. The site itself pitched YZY as more than just another meme coin describing it as a digital currency meant to fuel transactions inside a larger blockchain-powered ecosystem.
The hype did its job. The token price exploded nearly 6,800% from its starting point, briefly touching $3.16 per coin. But the rally only lasted about 40 minutes before gravity set in.
Token Setup Sparks Red Flags
Analytics platforms were quick to spot problems. According to Lookonchain, the token was added to liquidity pools without being paired against USDC, a design that essentially lets developers move liquidity in and out at will, opening the door to price manipulation.
This wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising discovery. Data revealed that 94% of the initial supply was concentrated in the hands of insiders, with one multisig wallet alone controlling 87% of tokens before scattering them across smaller wallets.
OnChain Lens even traced one wallet that seemed to know the contract address before the official launch. That wallet managed to secure early access and later walked away with over $1.5 million in profits. Another investor poured in $2.28 million worth of Solana tokens, which ballooned to $8.29 million at YZY’s peak, an unrealized gain of about $6 million.
Some Win Big, Others Burn Fast
Not everyone struck gold. One unlucky wallet shelled out $1.55 million for nearly a million tokens at $1.56 each only to sell them at $1.06 two hours later, locking in a half-million-dollar loss.
Another trader fell victim to a copycat contract address, accidentally buying the wrong token and burning $710,000. Fortunately, they recovered later by jumping into the real YZY.
Following the Celebrity Token Playbook
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it before. Celebrity-backed tokens have been making waves and controversies all year.
Donald Trump’s TRUMP token quadrupled in value within just 28 hours of launch, while Argentina’s President Javier Milei triggered chaos after endorsing the LIBRA token, which briefly hit a $4 billion market cap before crashing when he deleted his post.
Kanye’s YZY seems to be following the same volatile script.
Big Names Still Buying
Despite all the red flags, the buzz hasn’t completely cooled. Well-known crypto traders are still piling in. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes openly shared that he bought YZY tokens, while leverage trader James Wynn admitted he jumped in during a 60% price dip, justifying his move by pointing to Trump’s token success.
Interestingly, the launch wasn’t straightforward either YZY rolled out with 25 contract addresses simultaneously, with one randomly chosen as the official token. The idea was to make it harder for trading bots to snipe early access.
As of now, YZY hovers around $1 per token, far below its $3 peak. The project’s website bluntly reminds investors of the obvious risk: the chance of a total loss.
The Bottom Line
Kanye’s YZY launch shows how fast fortunes can be made and lost in the world of celebrity-backed crypto. With insiders scooping up millions and everyday traders facing whiplash losses, the story is equal parts hype, chaos, and cautionary tale.
For now, one thing is clear: Yeezy’s first big crypto experiment has already left its mark on the industry but whether it’s remembered as innovation or exploitation depends on what happens next.
