Kanye West memecoin: How YZY token debut played out

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Kanye West memecoin

YZY sales kickoff

The memecoin was finally released on August 21, 2025, as the artist announced on his X account. Within just an hour, the cryptocurrency’s market cap surpassed $3 billion, with YZY briefly trading at $2.99.

Yeezy Investments LLC issued the memecoin with tokenomics allocating 20% of the supply to the public and 10% to liquidity. The launch sparked doubts and suspicions that Kanye West’s account had been hacked, but the artist posted a video confirming the official rollout.

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However, the euphoria quickly faded as the token’s price and market cap began to tumble.

Insider profits and retail losses

Although YZY’s price initially surged 1,400% after launch, within less than 24 hours the token dropped 74% to $0.70. Today, the memecoin trades around $0.60, with its market cap crashing from $3 billion to $82 million. What happened? Most market participants believe insiders were to blame.

Coinbase executive Conor Grogan warned on the day of release that insiders controlled 94% of the supply. One multisig wallet alone held 87% of the total volume until the tokens were distributed to other accounts.

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Right after the sales launch, several addresses coordinated to buy a huge amount of YZY and then quickly sold at the top. As a result, 13 wallets collectively pocketed $24.5 million in profits.

“Oops… guys, next time please don’t let me trade junk like YZY. I should’ve just stuck to the two-step strategy,” commented BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.

Retail investors, as usual, were the ones who suffered. According to Nansen, one investor lost $1.8 million, another was down $1.2 million, and a third recorded an unrealized loss of over $800,000.

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In total, thousands of market participants were affected. Dune Analytics data shows that more than 56,000 wallets invested in the YZY token. To this day, about 27,000 addresses still hold funds worth more than $1.

This has happened before

The story of Kanye West’s crypto project is nothing new. Similar events happen regularly. For example, in December 2025 TikTok influencer Haley Welch launched the HAWK memecoin on Solana, which initially spiked and then crashed 95%. At that time, retail investors lost millions, while insiders made around $3 million.

Similar scenarios have unfolded with memecoins tied to stars like Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Caitlyn Jenner, and Lindsay Lohan. In each case, the hyped promotion was followed by sharp crashes, leaving retail investors with heavy losses while initiators managed to cash out before the collapse.

What happened with Kanye West’s memecoin once again proves that hype and a big name don’t guarantee a project’s success. On the contrary, such launches most often result in massive losses for retail investors, while insiders and initiators walk away with profits.

YZY became yet another example of how the memecoin market remains an arena for speculation and quick plays rather than long-term investments. For the crypto industry, it’s a reminder that trust cannot be bought solely with branding or popularity. Without a transparent structure and real value, a project is doomed to follow the fate of dozens of “celebrity” tokens that flared up quickly – and disappeared just as fast.

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