- Kanye West’s Solana meme coin YZY plunged 81% from launch highs, with its market cap falling to round $73.5M.
- An Instagram hack promoted a faux YZY token, which briefly hit a $7M market cap earlier than collapsing 96%.
- Early insiders, together with wallets linked to Libra promoter Hayden Davis, profited $12M, whereas retail merchants have been left holding heavy losses.
Kanye West’s long-awaited Solana meme coin, YZY, is having a tough begin. Barely every week after launch, the token has already crashed practically 81% from its highs—whereas Ye himself battles what he claims was an Instagram hack selling a faux model of the coin.
The “actual” YZY is up just below 1% as we speak, however the faux knock-off, which popped up on Solana’s Pump.enjoyable launchpad, has collapsed 96% from its peak and now trades at a laughable $160,000 market cap. For context, West’s official token as soon as hit a staggering $3 billion absolutely diluted valuation earlier than free-falling to simply above $565 million FDV. Its market cap sits round $73.5 million on the time of writing—painful, contemplating the hype.
Ye posted on X to clear the air, writing: “My Instagram has been hacked and it’s following a faux coin” whereas tagging the official YZY account and sharing the official Solana contract tackle ending in “YEEZY.”
Instagram Hack Fuels Faux YZY Frenzy
West’s Instagram, with practically 20 million followers, briefly adopted solely two accounts—his spouse Bianca Censori’s and a web page referred to as “yzytoken.” That web page promoted the counterfeit coin, full with its personal contract tackle, a QR code, and a cryptic caption: “(‘Restart now? (y/n): ‘) == ‘y.’”
The injury? That faux coin pumped to a $7 million market cap earlier than crashing again to actuality. Simply West’s unintentional comply with was sufficient to spark the frenzy.
Actual YZY Nonetheless Struggling After Flashy Debut
Launched final week after months of rumors, the official YZY token triggered chaos throughout the Kanye-themed token scene, sending unaffiliated cash down as a lot as 88%. However the true YZY hasn’t precisely thrived both. From a near-$3B debut, it’s bled worth quickly, leaving holders pissed off whereas insiders cashed in huge.
On-chain sleuths at Bubblemaps tied practically $12 million in earnings to Hayden Davis—sure, the identical Davis linked to the Libra meme coin scandal promoted earlier this 12 months by Argentine President Javier Milei. Davis’ wallets have been shopping for YZY inside minutes of its launch, only a day after U.S. courts unfroze funds linked to the failed Libra token.
Cleanup and Subsequent Steps
By Tuesday afternoon, Kanye’s Instagram had unfollowed the faux “yzytoken” web page, however the injury to investor confidence could linger. Between insider trades, a large drawdown in worth, and rip-off tokens siphoning consideration, YZY’s debut feels extra like chaos than celebration.
Whether or not the token can get better—or if it turns into one other flash-in-the-pan superstar coin—remains to be up within the air.