Kanye West Launches YZY Token, Reaches $3 Billion Market Cap
Kanye West has launched a new cryptocurrency, YZY, on the Solana blockchain.
- Market cap reached $3 billion within 40 minutes of the announcement.
- Price peaked at $3.16, increasing by 6,800% before profit-taking reduced it.
- YZY will serve as a payment method for Yeezy's online store.
- 70% of total supply controlled by West raises concerns about centralization.
Insider Concerns
- Criticism arose as only YZY tokens were added to the liquidity pool, not stablecoins like USDC.
- This setup allows developers to manipulate liquidity and sell tokens at inflated prices.
- Insider wallets reportedly profited significantly, with one turning $450,000 into nearly $1.5 million.
- Initial supply ownership included 94% by insiders, with 87% held by a single multisig wallet.
Current market cap is $345 million; YZY trades around $1.15, down over 50% in 24 hours.
The Risky World of Celebrity Tokens
- This incident parallels other celebrity token controversies, including Argentina’s LIBRA and Donald Trump’s TRUMP meme coin.
- Both have seen significant declines in market value post-launch.
- Logan Paul's CryptoZoo project faced allegations of being a rugpull.