Ye Meme Coin: A roller coaster journey from a 350 times big pump to an 80% big dump

Famous rapper and fashion icon Kanye West (now known as Ye) announced on August 20, 2025, the launch of the official Meme Token YZY on the Solana Blockchain, as an extension of his Yeezy brand.

Once the news was released, the market value of the token skyrocketed to 3 billion dollars in just 40 minutes, but then quickly plummeted by nearly 80%, leaving behind astonishment and controversy. The token named YZY not only reflects the huge impact of celebrity effect but also exposes the speculative nature and potential risks of the meme coin market.

Official Announcement: The Birth and Explosive Growth of YZY Token

Kanye West announced on Twitter on August 20, 2025, the groundbreaking news, "YEEZY MONEY IS HERE, A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN," and included a link to the official website. The accompanying image revealed for the first time the contract information for the YZY Token, instantly igniting market enthusiasm.

YZY Token is issued based on the Solana Blockchain, and the project team has adopted a unique anti-sniping mechanism: 25 contract addresses have been deployed, of which only one is randomly selected as the official contract address. This design reduces the probability of correctly identifying the contract address to 1/25, aiming to effectively resist attacks from sniping robots.

Roller Coaster Market, Dramatic Fluctuations and Huge Losses in Market Performance

The market performance of Ye Meme Coin can be described as one of the most intense fluctuations in the cryptocurrency space in recent years.

According to the data, the YZY Token surged by 35,000% within 24 hours of its launch, with the price skyrocketing from a low point to over $3.1, before plummeting to a trough.

Its market value surged to 300 million dollars in just 10 minutes, but quickly fell back significantly. As of the time of writing, the trading price of YZY is approximately 0.6733 dollars, having dropped over 40% in the past 24 hours, with trading volume also shrinking by 85.92%.

This drastic fluctuation has resulted in clear winners and losers. On-chain data shows that a small number of early investors made huge profits, while later-following retail investors suffered significant losses. The top 500 wallet addresses profited up to $50.4 million, while retail investors incurred a total loss of $21.4 million.

Token Economics, Highly Centralized Distribution Structure

The economic model design of the YZY Token highlights its highly centralized characteristics:

The total supply is 1 billion YZY Tokens. Among them, 70% is controlled by Yeezy Investments LLC, and these tokens are released in phases, including a 3-month lock-up period plus 24 months of release, a 6-month lock-up period plus 24 months of release, and a 12-month lock-up period plus 24 months of release.

Additionally, 20% is allocated to Public Supply, and 10% is used to provide liquidity. This highly centralized distribution structure means that the vast majority of the Token supply is controlled by a single entity, raising concerns within the community about fairness and potential manipulation risks.

Vision Planning, the Ecosystem Concept of YZY MONEY

Although the YZY token itself is positioned as a meme coin, Kanye West has planned a grander ecosystem vision for it - YZY MONEY.

According to the official website, YE PAY will serve as a cryptocurrency payment processor, accepting credit card and cryptocurrency payments, with the goal of offering fees 3.5% lower than the industry standard, competing with existing fintech platforms.

The YZY CARD is a non-custodial crypto debit card that allows users to directly use YZY and USDC tokens for global consumption without the need to convert to fiat currency. The official also proposed the concept of YZY MONEY, which aims to build a financial system based on Solana, providing token trading and a structured locking mechanism to regulate supply and demand balance.

Controversies and Risks, Insider Trading Allegations and Regulatory Concerns

The launch of the YZY Token is not without controversy. On-chain data analysis indicates that there may be insider trading activities:

Blockchain analysts found that before the token officially launched, some wallets seemed to have prepared funds in advance. A key figure named Mikey Shelton boldly claimed in his Instagram story that he made $160,000 within 10 minutes of the opening, and the profits had approached $300,000.

The analysis also found that the same group of wallets repeatedly appeared in the early trades of multiple celebrity tokens such as TRUMP, LIBRA, and YZY, forming a clear association pattern. These findings have raised community doubts about whether the YZY token has become a typical case of insider trading.

Investment Warning: Five Signs to Identify Risks of Celebrity Tokens

Based on the events of the YZY Token, the crypto community summarized several key signals for identifying the risks of celebrity tokens:

1. Anonymous development team: YZY has not disclosed developer information, lacking transparency.
2. Preloaded Wallet: On-chain data shows that a large amount of funds were prepared before the launch, which may indicate an unfair start.
3. Related party speculation: Core members excessively promote profits on social platforms, which may induce retail investors to take over.
4. Liquidity Design: Low liquidity pools may amplify price fluctuations and increase manipulation risks.
5. Historical Association: There is a wallet association with previous problematic projects, which may repeat the same pattern.

The official website also clearly states that YZY is not an investment opportunity or security, reminding users to be aware of speculative risks.

Future Outlook

As of August 25, 2025, the price of Ye Meme Coin (YZY) on Gate.io has fallen more than 80% from its historical peak, and trading volume has also significantly shrunk.

The future value recovery largely depends on the implementation of practical application scenarios such as Yeezy product payments, as well as the sustained influence of Kanye West. In the unregulated field of celebrity tokens, retail investors must remain extremely cautious, or they may very well become the "exit liquidity" for insider traders.