On-chain data shows 70% of supply sits in a single wallet, raising centralization concerns.
Hip-hop artist Kanye West has made his first direct move into crypto with YZY, a Solana-based token promoted late Wednesday night on his verified X account.
“A new economy, built on chain,” West’s account posted on the social media platform, describing the project. A video of West confirming “the official Yeezy token” drop was released an hour later.
West has spoken about Bitcoin before and once sued to shut down the unauthorized “Coinye” token.YZY is the first coin he has formally launched under his own name and brand. Earlier in March, West pivoted to crypto and teased the possibility of dropping a meme coin.
His announcement has triggered a buying surge that quickly pushed the coin’s market capitalization to more than $3 billion less than an hour after it went live, before drastically dropping to less than $1 billion, according to on-chain data from Birdeye.
While YZY is clocking a 375% rise over the last 24 hours, the token is down more than 34% in the past hour to $0.99, data shows.
The token was quickly listed on platforms including CoinMarketCap and Bitget, with Poloniex announcing support shortly after.
Trading volumes on Solana decentralized exchanges spiked, cementing YZY as one of the largest and most visible celebrity-linked coins to debut yet, eclipsing that of other launches such as TRUMP, MOTHER, and LIBRA.
Framed as part of a broader “YZY Money” ecosystem, its website describes the token as part of “a new financial system, built on crypto rails,” with YZY positioned as the native cryptocurrency of a broader ecosystem.
The website describes YZY as more than a meme coin and goes on to describe Ye Pay, a proposed payment processor aimed at reducing merchant fees, and the YZY Card, pitched as a global spending tool for YZY and USDC.
The project claims the token would support loyalty programs, retail use, and peer-to-peer transfers, but no timeline or technical details were provided.
While the site disclosed the Solana contract address and liquidity pool, questions remain about governance, compliance, and whether these features will be delivered.
West’s representatives under the Yeezy brand did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comments on those aspects.
Bubblemaps data shows a single wallet controls about 70% of the token’s total one-billion supply, with public allocations reported at just 20% and the remainder vested under Yeezy Investments LLC, spurring concerns over centralization risks.
