Rapper and designer Ye, previously often known as Kanye West, is reportedly making ready to launch his personal meme coin token, $YZY, in an try and create a censorship-resistant monetary ecosystem for his model.
The controversial artist, who has been banned from a number of platforms for his incendiary remarks, seems to be utilizing crypto’s decentralized nature to sidestep conventional monetary methods.
The YZY token is anticipated to function Ye’s official foreign money and can be accepted as cost on his web site.
Nevertheless, the token’s extremely centralized possession construction—70% of the availability is allotted to Ye—raises issues about its legitimacy and long-term viability.
Ye’s Foray into Crypto: The Story Behind $YZY Meme Coin
Ye’s transfer into cryptocurrency comes amid ongoing controversy and monetary setbacks. In 2022, following his “antisemitic” remarks, main companions comparable to Balenciaga dropped him.
Extra lately, his e-commerce platform on Shopify was shut down after he listed a swastika-bearing T-shirt on his web site. These developments have considerably curtailed his means to monetize his model by conventional channels.
Together with his choices narrowing, Ye has turned to crypto as a possible lifeline.
Based on CoinDesk, which claimed to be aware of the undertaking plans, YZY is designed to perform as Yeezy’s official foreign money, offering a monetary framework for his trend empire with out counting on centralized establishments.
A leaked doc from Hussein Lalani, who recognized himself as Yeezy’s chief monetary officer, by CoinDesk detailed the token’s construction: 70% of the availability is reserved for Ye, 10% for liquidity, and 20% for buyers.
The closely centralized possession has raised eyebrows, with critics mentioning that such allocations typically favor the founder on the expense of retail buyers.
RUMOR: $YZY coin coming from @kanyewest
There are rumors that Ye is now launching a coin after beforehand saying that he received’t launch one as cash “prey on the followers”
Right here’s the token breakdown in accordance with @CoinDesk
– 70% to Ye
– 20% to buyers
– 10% to liquidity provisioning… pic.twitter.com/mlgUSl04l5— JBond (@jbondwagon) February 21, 2025
The token’s launch, which was initially scheduled for Thursday at 6:00 p.m., was delayed to Friday, although no official purpose was offered.
One staff member, talking anonymously, cited inside issues about adverse public notion following current celebrity-driven crypto scandals, particularly the newest one among LIBRA.
The timing of YZY’s launch has additionally been scrutinized resulting from this current launch from Argentina. President Javier Milei confronted a political disaster after LIBRA, a meme coin he endorsed, was uncovered as a pump-and-dump scheme.
Argentina President Milei promoted a little-known crypto 'LIBRA' on X, which quickly surged to a market capitalization of about $4.5 billion earlier than collapsing.#Argentina #LIBRACoin #JavierMileihttps://t.co/Lxb79k7OlI
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) February 17, 2025
Public outrage over LIBRA’s collapse has intensified skepticism about political and celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies. Some members of the YZY staff are questioning whether or not the undertaking is launching too quickly after the Milei sage.
Drawing Inspiration from Trump: YZY’s Insider Allocation Controversy
The construction of YZY’s tokenomics carefully mirrors that of the TRUMP meme coin, which former U.S. President Donald Trump launched simply earlier than his second time period.
TRUMP’s insider-heavy allocation—80% of its provide being held by an organization with ties to Trump—sparked controversy however achieved important monetary success.
Ye reportedly sought the same association, initially requesting 80% of the availability earlier than being negotiated right down to 70%.
Celeb-backed tokens have a combined observe report. Many expertise transient speculative surges earlier than crashing, leaving retail buyers at a loss. The meme cash launched by Russ Hundreds of thousands, Jason Derulo, Iggy Azalea, and Andrew Tate are nowhere to be discovered now, tanking to the underside.
YZY enters an already saturated market of influencer-driven crypto tasks, lots of which have been accused of exploiting fan loyalty with out offering tangible utility.
Some have advised that Ye’s holdings could be locked below a multi-phase vesting schedule, with some cash inaccessible for as much as 12 months.
Regardless of these issues, Ye’s controversial status and robust fan following may drive important speculative curiosity in YZY.
Nevertheless, it stays to be seen whether or not the token can maintain long-term worth or merely function one other short-lived meme coin.
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