Kanye West once said he’d never drop a coin, blasting crypto but this week he flipped the script and launched a Solana-based meme token called YZY, promoting it under a new “Yeezy Money” brand with plans for a payment app and debit card. Within 40 minutes of launch, the coin rocketed to a $3 billion market cap before crashing just as quickly, wiping out early buyers.
Reports show as much as 70% to 90% of the supply was locked up by insiders under Kanye’s Yeezy Investments LLC, leaving everyday fans holding the bag. On-chain trackers revealed insiders pocketed more than $24 million while thousands of retail traders lost money, including one buyer who dropped over $1 million. The frenzy has sparked accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme and reignited warnings about celebrity-backed tokens. Critics say the rollout proves how fast hype can turn into heartbreak when influence and crypto collide.