In brief
Ye's YZY meme coin launches on the Solana blockchain, market cap soars to $3 billion, raising concerns about insider trading and market manipulation.
The YZY token includes a cryptocurrency payment system, but insiders seemed to know about it in advance and made huge profits on launch day.
Particular attention is paid to issues of liquidity and centralization, as well as the increasing number of fake tokens that deceive investors.
American rapper and entrepreneur Ye (Kanye West) has officially launched his cryptocurrency, the YZY meme coin, on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. Notably, after the launch, the token's market capitalization briefly rose to $3 billion.
However, amid this highly anticipated launch, experts are expressing concern about insider trading and potential market manipulation.
What is the YZY meme coin?
Ye announced the launch of the token in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter). He also released a video confirming the release of the token. In addition, the token has a website and an X account that he is subscribed to.
The YZY Money project, as stated on its website, aims to empower users by reducing centralized control.
"YZY Money is a concept that will put you in control, free from centralized governance," the website states.
It includes the YZY token, the Ye Pay cryptocurrency payment processor, and the YZY card for paying with YZY and USDC. In addition, the token has a anti-snipping mechanism.
The team deployed 25 contract addresses, one of which is randomly selected as the official token. This "1 of 25" selection process is designed to deter speculators and redistribute power to legitimate market participants.
The tokenomics of the meme coin or "YZYNOMICS" describes the following distribution:
Public: 20% of the total supply is allocated to the public.
Liquidity: 10% allocated to liquidity.
Yeezy Investments LLC Distribution: 70% of the total supply is distributed to Yeezy Investments LLC with various vesting schedules and lock-up periods ranging from 3 to 12 months.
According to Solscan, the current token supply is 999.99 million and the number of its holders is 31,046. The launch comes after Ye previously distanced himself from other YZY tokens circulating in the market. Earlier this year, he confirmed his intention to launch an official cryptocurrency
Insiders Made Millions on YZY Launch — Is This Cryptocurrency Manipulation?
The launch of YZY was accompanied by significant volatility. According to Nansen, the meme coin's market capitalization rose from $200 million to a peak of $3 billion, before falling to $1.37 billion at the time of publication.
In particular, Hyperliquid has introduced leverage for the YZY token, allowing users to open long and short positions with up to 3x leverage.
"Listing is not an endorsement of the project. Past results do not guarantee future results. Do not trade assets you are unfamiliar with or do not understand the risks involved. Exercise control. NFA," the post reads.
Nevertheless, the launch of the token also attracted close attention. The blockchain analysis company Lookonchain suggested that insiders were aware of the YZY token launch in advance. They prepared funds in advance and quickly bought back the token immediately after its launch.
"Insider wallet 6MNWV8 knew the contract address in advance and even tried to buy yesterday. 6MNWV8 spent 450,611 USDC to buy 1.29 million YZY at $0.35 today and sold 1.04 million YZY for $1.39 million, leaving 249,907 YZY ($600,000), with a profit of over $1.5 million," Lookonchain wrote.
The company also highlighted that another trader (2DNb2C) previously bought the wrong YZY token and lost $710,000.
"He spent $761,000 on the real YZY and is now profiting over $710,000, offsetting his losses," the firm added.
In addition, another insider invested 450,000 USDC to buy 1.89 million YZY at $0.24 per token across two wallets. He then sold 1.59 million YZY for 3.37 million USDC at $2.12 per token.
The insider still holds 303,425 YZY (worth $510,000), and their profit has exceeded $3.4 million. Lookonchain noted that one of the wallets paid 129 SOL (equivalent to $24,000) as a fee for priority access.
"A whale spent 12,170 (US$2.28 million) to buy 2.67 million YZY and transferred them to another wallet. These YZY are currently valued at US$8.29 million, generating a profit of US$6 million," OnChain Lens reports.
In addition to this, Solscan also demonstrated significant concentration, with the top 10 holders controlling 92.23% of the supply, increasing centralization risks.
In addition to insider buying, Lookochain also expressed concern about the liquidity pool, which contains only YZY, potentially allowing developers to manipulate trades.
"Dev can sell YZY by adding/removing liquidity, similar to LIBRA," the company said.
Finally, Bubblemaps revealed that scammers have launched fake tokens to scam investors.
Kanye West just subscribed to @YZY_MNY
NO QUALITIES AT ALL.
But scammers are already releasing fake $YZY tokens.
Don't fall for it.
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 19, 2025
Thus, while the project is attracting attention, its long-term viability remains uncertain. It is important to exercise caution, given the continued focus on the distribution and trading dynamics of the token.
