Kanye issues coin! Celebration and controversy coexist.

Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News

At 09:53 Beijing time today (August 21), famous rapper Kanye West announced significant news on Twitter, "YEEZY MONEY IS HERE, A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN," declaring the launch of a new project, and included the official website link money.yeezy.com. Notably, the image attached to his tweet also revealed the contract information for the YZY token for the first time.

Once the news was released, the market value of the YZY token experienced explosive growth, soaring from around 200 million USD to 3.1 billion USD, an increase of 14 times, and has currently dropped back to about 2 billion USD.

At the beginning of the event, some community members questioned the security of Kanye West's Twitter account, speculating that it might have been hacked. However, with the official launch of the YZY token on the Moonshot platform, coupled with Kanye West once again confirming the authenticity of YZY through a video posted on Twitter, the related controversy gradually subsided.

YZY Token Economics

The core concept of YZY MONEY is to build a financial ecosystem that allows users to control all rights and free themselves from the constraints of centralized authority, while YZY serves as the basic currency supporting all transactions within this ecosystem.

The YZY tokenomics is designed as follows: a total supply of 1 billion tokens, of which 10% is allocated for liquidity provision and 20% is allocated to public supply.

Yeezy Investments LLC will receive 70% of the token supply, which will be released in phases to prevent early sell-offs. The details are as follows:

30%: 3 months lock-up period (cliff) + 24 months release (vest)

20%: 6 months lock-up period (cliff) + 24 months release (vest)

20%: 12 months lock-up period (cliff) + 24 months release (vest)

Currently, YZY has opened a trading pair with USDC on the liquidity management platform Meteora of the Solana ecosystem.

The official website indicates that the project team has deployed a total of 25 YZY contract addresses, of which only one is a randomly selected official contract. This move reduces the probability of correctly identifying the contract address to 1/25, aiming to effectively resist sniper attacks. In addition, the project implements on-chain locking and allocation management of YZY tokens through Jupiter Lock.

The composition system of YZY MONEY

According to the official website, YZY, YE PAY, and YZY CARD are independent entities with different purposes.

The specific location is as follows:

YZY is the base currency that supports all transactions within the YZY MONEY ecosystem.

YE PAY is a cryptocurrency payment processor that accepts credit card and cryptocurrency payments.

YZY CARD supports the use of YZY and USDC globally, which can be used for consumption within the brand ecosystem.

Risks and Controversies

The YZY token released by Kanye West, as a product of the combination of his personal IP and cryptocurrency, has attracted widespread attention from the market and the community. It reflects the influence of celebrity effects in the crypto space, while also hiding numerous controversies and risks.

High Centralization: The token distribution structure of YZY shows a high degree of concentration, with Yeezy Investments LLC holding absolute dominance (70% of the tokens), while the liquidity and public supply combined account for only 30%.

The ambiguity of ecological implementation: Although the project has proposed concepts such as "YZY MONEY financial system", "YE PAY", and "YZY CARD", it currently remains at the stage of description on the official website, lacking specific technical details, partner information, or a timeline for implementation.

Investment Risk: The official website clearly states that YZY is not an investment opportunity or security.

The market heat and short-term effects driven by celebrity IP: The explosive growth of YZY token market capitalization is primarily driven by Kanye West's global influence. As an iconic figure in both the rap and fashion industries, his personal IP inherently attracts traffic, quickly drawing in fans and speculators, creating a short-term market heat. However, most past celebrity tokens (such as LIBRA) have faced a sharp decline in popularity and subsequent collapse, and YZY is also facing similar doubts.

Kanye's past controversial remarks and actions (such as extreme statements and repeated business decisions) have also added uncertainty to the project.

Kanye West and his connection to cryptocurrency

Kanye West is not new to the world of cryptocurrency. Back in February 2025, Kanye West announced plans to launch a meme coin named YZY as the official currency of his Yeezy brand.

Later, Kanye West publicly stated that he is learning about Bitcoin from crypto KOL Ansem.

Before this, several tokens related to YZY had appeared in the community, all regarded as "community spontaneous tokens" or "counterfeits." Kanye West's series of actions this time officially confirmed the launch of the official version of the YZY token.

Currently, YZY is still in its early stages, and its success depends on practical utility (such as Yeezy product payments), community support, and Ye's execution ability. The long-term value of a cryptocurrency project relies on real-world application scenarios; if the ecosystem cannot deliver, the tokens may become purely speculative tools. For ordinary investors, it is essential to be wary of the irrational following under the "fan filter" and fully recognize the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and the speculative nature of such projects, making cautious decisions.