YZY Token Launch Sparks Massive Gains Amid Insider Activity and Liquidity Concerns
YZY Money, a Solana-based memecoin linked to Ye (formerly Kanye West), launched with a spectacular price surge but quickly drew scrutiny over insider dominance, suspicious trading patterns, and a liquidity setup that puts retail investors at risk.
The token soared nearly 6,800% to an early peak of $3.16, briefly boasting a $3 billion market cap according to some trackers. The announcement came via Ye’s X account during early Asian trading hours, initially sparking worries about a compromised account. A video later posted showed Ye discussing and confirming the token release, though it remains uncertain whether it was the real Ye or an AI-generated likeness.
YZY Money is part of a wider YZY ecosystem promoted by Ye’s team, which also includes a YZY token, Ye Pay transaction processor, and a YZY Card designed for spending YZY and USDC globally.
Tokenomics revealed by CoinDesk in February showed 70% of YZY’s supply is allocated to Ye personally, 10% for liquidity, and only 20% made available to the public. Ye initially sought an 80% share—similar to the controversial Trump-backed TRUMP token—before negotiating the stake down.
From inception, the project faced controversy. Ye had earlier criticized crypto projects for exploiting fan enthusiasm before endorsing YZY’s launch. Insiders confirmed the token was modeled after the TRUMP token despite similar tokens like Argentina’s LIBRA collapsing amid pump-and-dump controversies.
Critics warn that the heavily insider-weighted token distribution creates significant risk for retail buyers, especially combined with a single-sided liquidity pool structure.
The distribution breakdown includes 20% for public sale, 10% for liquidity, and 70% locked for 24 months to Yeezy Investments LLC via Jupiter Lock.
To prevent bot manipulation, the launch used 25 contract addresses with only one randomly selected as the official token—a “1-in-25 anti-sniping” method touted as fairer. However, on-chain analysis shows insiders had early knowledge.
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain identified wallet 6MNWV8 as accessing the contract address before launch and attempting early buys. This wallet spent 450,611 USDC post-launch to acquire 1.29 million YZY tokens at about $0.35 each, later selling 1.04 million for 1.39 million USDC—realizing over $1.5 million profit while retaining nearly 250,000 tokens worth roughly $600,000.
“Wallet 6MNWV8 had prior knowledge of the contract and bought early,” Lookonchain noted on X.
OnChain Lens highlighted a large whale who invested 12,170 SOL (approximately $2.28 million) to purchase 2.67 million YZY tokens, now valued at $8.29 million—an unrealized gain of about $6 million.
YZY’s liquidity pool is seeded solely with YZY tokens, lacking a USDC pairing. This single-sided liquidity allows developers or large holders to add and remove liquidity freely, enabling cash-outs reminiscent of the controversial LIBRA token.
“Only $YZY was added to liquidity, with no $USDC, allowing devs to sell by manipulating liquidity, similar to $LIBRA,” Lookonchain observed.
Despite the initial hype and massive gains, YZY’s price has slipped to nearly $1, resulting in substantial losses for some early buyers.
One wallet, 6ZFnRH, purchased 996,453 YZY for 1.55 million USDC at $1.56 but sold two hours later at $1.06 for 1.05 million USDC—a loss close to $500,000.
