YZY Token Launch Sees Skyrocketing Gains Amid Insider Profits and Liquidity Red Flags
YZY Money, a Solana-based memecoin connected to Ye (formerly Kanye West), blasted off with eye-popping price gains on debut, but on-chain data reveals concentrated insider control, questionable trading activity, and a liquidity structure that could jeopardize retail investors.
The token surged nearly 6,800% to a high of $3.16 shortly after launch, with some trackers estimating a market cap of around $3 billion. The announcement came via Ye’s X account in early Asian trading hours, sparking initial concerns that the account had been compromised. A video later appeared showing Ye discussing the token’s issuance—though it remains unclear if the person in the video was the real Ye or an AI-generated likeness.
YZY is part of Ye’s broader ecosystem, which includes a YZY token, Ye Pay transaction processor, and a YZY Card designed for global spending using YZY and USDC.
Tokenomics, first revealed by CoinDesk in February, show that 70% of the token supply is allocated directly to Ye, 10% is reserved for liquidity, and only 20% is available to the public. Initially, Ye demanded an 80% stake, mirroring the controversial TRUMP token structure, before negotiating it down.
The project has been mired in controversy since its inception. Ye previously criticized “coins [that] prey on the fans with hype” before endorsing the YZY token. Sources indicated the token was designed to mimic the TRUMP token’s launch, despite similar projects like Argentina’s LIBRA token collapsing amid pump-and-dump accusations.
Critics warn that such insider-heavy allocations heavily favor insiders while exposing retail buyers to heightened risk—especially combined with a single-sided liquidity pool.
The distribution allocates 20% to public buyers, 10% to liquidity, and 70% locked under a 24-month vesting schedule with Yeezy Investments LLC via Jupiter Lock.
To prevent bot manipulation, 25 contract addresses were deployed at launch, with only one randomly chosen as the official token contract—a “1-in-25 anti-sniping” mechanism promoted as fairer. However, blockchain analytics suggest insiders had prior knowledge.
Lookonchain identified wallet 6MNWV8 as having early access to the contract address and attempting pre-launch purchases. After launch, this wallet spent 450,611 USDC to buy 1.29 million YZY tokens at roughly $0.35 each, later selling 1.04 million tokens for 1.39 million USDC—locking in over $1.5 million profit and retaining about 250,000 tokens valued at $600,000.
“Insider wallet 6MNWV8 knew the contract in advance and bought early,” Lookonchain tweeted.
OnChain Lens spotted a whale who invested 12,170 SOL (around $2.28 million) for 2.67 million YZY tokens, now worth $8.29 million—an unrealized gain near $6 million.
YZY’s liquidity pool is seeded only with YZY tokens, without a USDC pairing. This single-sided liquidity design enables developers or major holders to add or remove liquidity at will, facilitating potential cash-outs—similar to the controversial LIBRA token setup.
“Only $YZY was added to liquidity with no $USDC, allowing devs to manipulate liquidity and sell tokens, like $LIBRA,” Lookonchain said.
Despite the initial surge and hype, YZY’s price has dropped to nearly $1, causing some early investors significant losses.
One wallet, 6ZFnRH, purchased 996,453 YZY tokens for 1.55 million USDC at $1.56 but sold them two hours later at $1.06 for 1.05 million USDC—a loss nearing $500,000.
This episode highlights persistent risks in memecoin launches where insider control and questionable liquidity mechanisms disproportionately harm retail investors.
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