Kanye West Launches YZY Meme Coin on Solana, Hits $3B Before Crash

Rapper Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, has officially stepped into crypto. On Wednesday, the business mogul launched YZY, a Solana-based meme coin that briefly touched a $3 billion market cap within hours of its debut before rapidly shedding value.

The launch, billed by Ye himself as the start of “a new economy, built on chain,” comes just months after he publicly dismissed rumors of creating a token.

A New Economy or a Familiar Scheme?

The token’s rollout has already stirred some controversy, with journalist Colin Wu sharing data from the GMGN trading platform, which allegedly shows that 90% of its supply is in the hands of just six wallets, raising concerns about heavy concentration and insider activity.

Blockchain trackers also flagged suspicious liquidity pool setups reminiscent of the Libra coin rug pull from earlier in the year, where developers retained disproportionate control of liquidity. Additionally, Lookonchain reported that one insider flipped $450,000 worth of USDC into $3.37 million in just hours, highlighting how early entrants capitalized on privileged access.

However, even with the skepticism, Kanye’s star power shone, with YZY quickly listed on CoinMarketCap while also securing exchange listings, including Bitget.

Furthermore, the official site introduced not only the token but also Ye Pay, a crypto payment processor, and YZY Card, a debit solution aimed at everyday spending in YZY and USDC. It also indicated that the supply breakdown allocated 70% to Yeezy Investments LLC, 20% to public buyers, and 10% to liquidity, with vesting handled by Jupiter Lock contracts.

Nonetheless, community sentiment on the meme coin is split. Pseudonymous crypto trader Defi Mochi warned that YZY’s fully diluted valuation between $2 and $3 billion was “bad risk-reward” given the fate of other meme tokens, while also pointing to suspicious timing tied to unfrozen Libra funds. Meanwhile, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju drew comparisons to the Official Trump token, which spiked after launch but later collapsed by 88%, suggesting YZY may face a similar trajectory.

Price Action and Market Outlook

Data from CoinMarketCap shows YZY hit an all-time high of $3.16 within hours of its introduction before tumbling more than 66% to just under $1.00, briefly marking its all-time low at $0.91 the same day.

In the last 24 hours, the meme asset has dropped over 54%, with hourly swings as sharp as 31%. At the time of this writing, its market cap had nosedived from its previous multi-billion-dollar peak to sit at around $349 million according to CMC.

Traders have been both long and shorting the token aggressively. Spot On Chain reported one trader on Hyperliquid managed a $202,000 gain by shorting the token with leverage, while another repeatedly attempted long positions, racking up more than $159,000 in losses.