thedefiant.io
U.S. hip-hop provocateur Kanye West, known as Ye, has launched a Solana-based token called Yeezy Money ($YZY), teasing a sprawling crypto payments ecosystem that puts his brand — and his fans’ wallets — squarely in the spotlight.
In a Thursday announcement on X, West wrote: “Yeezy Money is here... A new economy, built on chain,” sharing the token’s contract address and a link to a website for buying, selling, and sending $YZY.
The $YZY ecosystem, according to West’s website, includes “Ye Pay,” a payment processor allowing merchants to accept credit and crypto payments, and the “$YZY Card,” a non-custodial debit card for spending $YZY tokens and stablecoins like USDC and USDT at merchants worldwide.
As of now, $YZY appears as a checkout option on West’s official merchandise site, though it is not yet functional.
Only 15% of Traders Profit
The token’s debut was turbulent. $YZY briefly surged to a $3 billion market capitalization within 40 minutes of its launch before retreating to around $1.05 billion, according to Dexscreener.
Analytics firm Nansen shared data with The Defiant showing that over 60,000 wallets traded $YZY within the first day. Of these, only 9,413 wallets realized profits of more than $10.
There are also clear signs of fading memecoin hype as $YZY logged just $724 million in first-day trading, well below the $29.5 billion generated during the debut of U.S. President Donald Trump’s memecoin.
Concerns about insider concentration quickly followed. Coinbase director Conor Grogan noted in an X post that a large portion of the token supply was initially held by insiders, with one multi-signature wallet controlling as much as 87% at one point.
Despite these accusations, $YZY is trading at a $1 billion valuation, according to data from the Jupiter decentralized crypto exchange.
West’s entry into crypto marks a stark shift from his earlier statements. In February, he rejected the idea of launching a coin, saying memecoins “prey on fans with hype,” and revealed he had turned down a $2 million offer to promote a fake Ye token.