Over 51,000 Lose Money as Kanye West’s YZY Token Soars Then Crashes

Highlights:

• More than 51,000 investors lost money following Kanye West’s YZY token launch.
• YZY token soared 1,400% initially but then fell sharply by over 80%.
• Celebrity memecoins show high risk, leaving most traders with significant financial losses.

More than 51,000 people lost money on Kanye West’s new memecoin, showing how risky celebrity tokens can be since they have no real use or technology behind them. His YZY token debuted on the Solana blockchain on August 21. Its price shot up by 1,400% within the first hour but then dropped by over 80%. Out of 70,201 buyers, around 51,862, or 73.8% ended up losing money, and three traders lost over $1 million each, according to Bubblemaps.

Kanye West’s YZY Token Crash Exposes Risks of Celebrity Memecoins

Only 18,333 wallets made profits from YZY, but the earnings were very uneven. Bubblemaps said on Wednesday, out of about 70,000 wallets, just 11 made more than $1 million, nearly 30% of the total profits, and 99 made over $100,000, while most traders lost money from Kanye West’s YZY token. This shows how risky celebrity meme tokens can be since they have no real use in blockchain. Among those betting on YZY was former kickboxing champ Andrew Tate, who lost $700,000 on a 3x short with his Hyperliquid account.

The updated $YZY numbers are worse than we thought

70,000+ total traders

> 51,862 lost $1–$1k
> 5,269 lost $1k–$10k
> 1,025 lost $10k–$100k
> 108 lost $100k–$1M
> 3 lost $1M+

Meanwhile, 11 wallets made $1M+ pic.twitter.com/I9ZaBJepAM

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 27, 2025

Right now, the YZY token is down more than 80% from its highest price, trading at $0.5515. Only 19,531 traders are still holding the token, according to data from Nansen. YZY, short for Yeezy Money, was promoted heavily on Kanye West’s website and social media. The token was promoted as a tool for personal financial control, but it rapidly lost value. 

Bubblemaps said that a group of traders linked to Naseem, known for making $100 million on the TRUMP token, were the first to buy YZY. These traders are almost always first and make millions. After the YZY incident, Bubblemaps pointed to Hayden Davies, co-creator of the Melania Meme (MELANIA) token and the Libra token, known for taking part in many big token launches.

Davies reportedly earned $12 million by quickly capitalizing on the YZY token launch. In the past, he was also involved with Libra and other coins that crashed soon after launching. On August 21, a judge released $57.7 million in USDC tied to the Libra token case, restoring Davies’ access. Bubblemaps explained on X that the strategy is simple: join big token launches early, take profits quickly, and walk away with millions. They added that it keeps happening openly, and nobody is stopping it.

The past week truly exposed the failures of our industry

Despite our collective efforts as investigators, builders, and communities – the same names keep running the same scams

The playbook is simple:

Infiltrate big launches, get in early, and extract millions

It’s happening…

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 27, 2025

Kanye West Rejects YZY Token Claims

On August 26, Kanye West clarified he had no connection to the YZY-themed memecoin, explaining that his Instagram account had been hacked. He shared the message on X on August 26, saying: “My Instagram was hacked and is promoting a fake coin…The real project is @YZY_MNY.” West didn’t share details about how the hack happened or who was behind the original YZY launch. This case adds to the growing list of celebrity crypto scandals in 2024 and 2025, raising concerns about how memecoins are created and promoted with little oversight.

My Instagram has been hacked and it’s following a fake coin

The official project is @YZY_MNY

DrZ26cKJDksVRWib3DWsjo9 eeXccc7hKhDJviiYEEZY

— ye (@kanyewest) August 26, 2025