Ye is taking action: after criticizing cryptocurrencies, the artist is launching “YZY Money,” an ecosystem combining utility tokens and payment solutions. Officially launched on Solana, the project is already raising many doubts, between greedy insiders and more than shady tokenomics.
Ye has finally launched his cryptocurrency, YZY
Cryptocurrencies “prey on fans through hype” and I’m “too rich to do anything else,” Ye (formerly Kanye West) said on X when rumors surrounded him about a hypothetical cryptocurrency launch. In a tweet that has since been deleted, he even claimed that he had been approached to promote a memecoin in exchange for $2 million, which he categorically refused. But in a new about-face, the American rapper has just unveiled “YZY,” a “Yeezy Money,” or, more simply, a cryptocurrency. “YZY Money is a concept that gives you back control, freeing you from any centralized authority,” reads the website launched for the occasion.
It should be noted that this is not a purely speculative cryptocurrency, but a kind of utility token, again according to the website: ” YZY is the currency that powers all transactions within YZY Money.“
YZY Money is an infrastructure that encompasses the YZY token as well as ”Ye Pay,“ a payment solution ”that allows merchants to accept both credit card and crypto payments at fees lower than the 3.5% typically charged by traditional platforms. “ As such, YZY crypto now appears among the payment methods offered on Ye’s merchandising website, yeezy.com.
However, despite the launch of YZY crypto, a ”Coming soon” message remains displayed. Payment in USDC via the Solana blockchain—where YZY was launched—is available, alongside the more traditional credit card.
This is probably sufficient proof that this is Ye’s “real” cryptocurrency and that identity theft seems unlikely.
Insiders and chaotic tokenomics: behind the scenes
On paper, why not? We discussed this last February, when CoinDesk revealed that the rapper was going to launch a cryptocurrency (the tokenomics and name match those launched today), which would be a way to bypass e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, which turned their backs on him after his anti-Semitic remarks and the sale of T-shirts bearing swastikas.
An “outside the system” model, reminiscent of Donald Trump’s crypto universe. In fact, the US president’s cryptocurrency has very similar tokenomics.
However, if you want to develop your own payment system to break free from traditional tools, why not launch a stablecoin?
The answer to this question, in reality, lies in the on-chain data. The YZY crypto website is clear: measures have been taken to prevent sniping, the practice of instantly buying a crypto when it is launched.
Simply put, the idea is to acquire a crypto X at the lowest possible price by acting quickly and then selling it when a certain price has been reached. This practice is often carried out by specialized bots, acting in the order of milliseconds.
To counter this, 25 addresses were launched simultaneously, with only one corresponding to the real crypto, “giving the advantage back to real traders,” as the website states.
Except that there were indeed insiders, as Lookonchain proved on X.
ye(@kanyewest) launched the $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
For example, one address (6MNWV8) spent more than $450,000 to purchase 1.29 million YZY tokens at a unit price of $0.35, before selling some of them to make a $1.5 million profit. Another address invested $2.28 million in the cryptocurrency, with an unrealized profit of $6 million at around 5 a.m. Finally, a third address spent $24,000 to prioritize its purchase orders, enabling it to make a handsome profit.
It is also worth noting that the token pool (YZY-USDC) was only supplied with YZY, meaning that the token had no liquidity upon release. At the time of writing, approximately two-thirds of the pool is composed of YZY.
Furthermore, while Ye’s website reveals that 70% of the tokens are in the hands of the project team, the reality could be even worse: according to Conor Grogan, product manager at Coinbase, 94% of the supply is actually in the wallets of insiders.
