Kanye West launches crypto meme coin hits $3 billion market cap

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has launched his own cryptocurrency, Yeezy Money (YZY), on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. 

Posting on X, the rapper described the project as “A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN,” sharing a contract address as well as a link to its official website.

The token sparked doubts among fans, given that Ye was against the idea of creating his own crypto in February, when he said he didn’t want to exploit fans after allegedly receiving a $2 million offer to scam his community.

Despite skepticism, Yeezy Money is featured on the musician’s official website and online store, suggesting the project is genuine. 

Ye faces insider trading accusations

YZY experienced extreme volatility at launch, briefly hitting a $3 billion market cap within 40 minutes before dropping to around $1.05 billion. 

At the same time, significant insider activity was flagged, with multiple wallets buying in at launch, one of them reportedly gaining more than $1.5 million in early trades according to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain.

Concerns deepened after Coinbase director Conor Grogan noted that 94% of the token supply was initially concentrated among insiders, with a single multisig wallet controlling 87% before distribution. 

Now, the bubble map of YZY appears to mostly match the distribution on Ye’s website, with each vested allocation split across five addresses.

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 The bubble map of $YZY mostly MATCHES the distribution on Kanye’s website pic.twitter.com/LGfo227ai7

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 21, 2025

In spite of all the controversy, the project has drawn some high-profile traders, including BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and high-stakes crypto whale James Wynn.

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