Kanye West Launches YZY Meme Coin; Market Surges to $3 Billion Then Falls

Highlights:

• Ye launched YZY on Solana, quickly gaining attention with a $3 billion market cap.
• YZY token launch introduces Ye Pay and YZY Card for worldwide crypto payments.
• Wynn and Hayes bought YZY, aiming for quick profits even with high risk.

Kanye West, now known as Ye Ye, launched a new crypto token named YZY on the Solana blockchain. He shared the news in a video on X late Wednesday, joining other stars who tried digital coins with mixed results. In just 40 minutes, YZY’s market cap climbed to $3 billion before dropping to nearly $1.05 billion, according to Nansen data. West said in a video on X that the official Yeezy token is now live, linking to a site called Yeezy Money, which claims to give users freedom from central control. 

YZY Meme Coin Launch Sparks Controversy but Expands Features and Listings

The project’s website also includes disclaimers in its fine print. It states the token cannot be accessed in restricted regions and reminds users that crypto carries high risk, including the chance of a total loss. The website also revealed two more products — a payment service named Ye Pay and a debit card called YZY Card. The YZY Card will let people spend YZY tokens and USDC anywhere in the world. 

The YZY token’s total supply is divided into three portions: 20% for public use, 10% for liquidity, and 70% reserved for Yeezy Investments LLC. To stop bots from exploiting trades, the team launched 25 contract addresses but marked only one as the real YZY token. The project notes that this method lowers sniper chances to 1 in 25, giving fairer control to regular traders.

The YZY token launch has already faced criticism. Colin Wu shared data showing 90% of tokens are in six wallets, raising fears of insider control. Analysts noticed unusual liquidity pool arrangements, reminiscent of the Libra token rug pull from earlier this year.

ye(@kanyewest) launched the $YZY token. Note:

Only $YZY was added to the liquidity pool with no $USDC.
Dev may sell $YZY by adding/removing liquidity, similar to $LIBRA.

Multiple insider wallets prepared funds in advance and immediately bought $YZY.

Insider wallet 6MNWV8 knew… pic.twitter.com/qv7nsx0R4J

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 21, 2025

Lookonchain said one insider turned $450,000 USDC into $3.37 million within hours, showing big gains for early players. Even with doubts, Kanye’s fame helped the token. YZY was rapidly listed on Bitget and also appeared on CoinMarketCap.

An insider spent 450K $USDC to buy 1.89M $YZY at $0.24 via 2 wallets, then sold 1.59M $YZY for 3.37M $USDC at $2.12.

He still holds 303,425 $YZY($510K), with a profit of over $3.4M (+760%).

To ensure he got in first, one wallet even paid 129 $SOL($24K) in priority fees.… pic.twitter.com/HaUeEjcmSC

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 21, 2025

CoinMarketCap data shows YZY surged to a record $3.16 just hours after its launch. It later dropped more than 66%, falling below $1.00 and briefly touching a low of $0.91 the same day.

Top Traders Like Wynn and Hayes Bet on YZY Despite Risks

Even with doubts around the YZY meme coin, some well-known traders admitted they jumped in. Leverage trader James Wynn said the token’s strong liquidity and trading volume could draw in large investors. He called it a short-term bet, hoping to double or even quadruple his stake. Wynn pointed to Donald Trump’s meme token, which surged four times in value within just 28 hours, as his inspiration. He also noted buying YZY after a 60% dip, expecting similar momentum. Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, also seemed to have purchased the token.

Pls don't rug me @kanyewest !!!$YZY for the win … cause bull market.

Yachtzee pic.twitter.com/16ZruT8WqA

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) August 21, 2025

Celebrity memecoins drew attention this year, including Argentina’s President Milei backing LIBRA. His tweet briefly pushed its value to $4 billion before deletion caused a crash. The move sparked outrage and calls for stricter rules. Earlier, US President Trump launched his TRUMP memecoin before his inauguration.