YZY Token Collapse Exposes Celebrity Crypto Risk: How Insiders Cashed Out While Retail Traders Lost Millions

When Kanye West’s YZY launched on Solana, it seemed like the perfect storm—1,400% gains in the first hour, prices hitting $3. The reality? A textbook market manipulation playbook where coordinated insiders extracted over $24 million in profits while ordinary traders watched their savings evaporate.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: A Rigged Game From Day One

The damage is staggering. Of the initial 99 buyers in YZY token’s launch, only 9 are still holding. The rest? They sold at massive premiums, leaving retail bagholders in their wake. Current data shows YZY trading at $0.35 with Top10 addresses controlling 96.45% of supply—a concentration level that screams vulnerability to sudden selloffs.

The profit distribution tells an even darker story. Thirteen wallets each banked over $1 million, collectively pulling $24 million from the market. The top 10 addresses alone secured $18 million in gains. Meanwhile, 14,000+ retail wallets each lost roughly $500—money many can’t afford to lose—while hundreds of other traders saw positions drop between $10K and $100K.

Who Really Won: The Sniper Network Behind YZY

Blockchain analysis reveals the winners weren’t random lucky traders—they were part of an organized operation. Investigators linked YZY’s earliest buyers to known “snipers” with a history of targeting celebrity token launches for quick extraction profits. The same network profited from Trump’s memecoin debut and was previously connected to the LIBRA scheme, which drained tens of millions.

The pattern is unmistakable: these coordinated wallets operate as an elite trading syndicate rather than competing individually. They identify celebrity-backed tokens, position themselves at launch, and extract maximum liquidity before retail buyers can even complete their transactions.

Insiders Control the Token Supply—And Your Risk

The concentration issue extends beyond early buyers. Yeezy Investments LLC holds approximately 70% of YZY’s total supply, with insiders collectively controlling around 90%. While team allocations are standard in crypto projects, this level of centralization transforms the token into a potential powder keg. Any significant insider sale could trigger cascading losses.

Adding to concerns: Kanye West’s team has yet to articulate a concrete roadmap or real-world utility for YZY beyond its celebrity association. The project reads more like a hype-driven asset than a genuine decentralized initiative with long-term community value.

Collateral Damage: Fan Tokens Obliterated

YZY’s launch didn’t just hurt those who bought the “official” token—it devastated two earlier fan-created projects: Yeezy Coin and Swasticoin. For months, these communities had convinced themselves Kanye was secretly backing their projects, interpreting social media posts as coded signals of support.

When YZY launched as the legitimate offering, the illusion shattered instantly. Yeezy Coin crashed 94% from its peak. Swasticoin lost over 99% of its value. Beyond financial devastation, these projects also faced criticism for promoting problematic rhetoric, compounding the reputational fallout.

The Broader Celebrity Token Crisis

YZY joins a growing graveyard of celebrity-backed digital assets that follow the same destructive formula. Hailey Welch’s HAWK, tokens linked to Kim Kardashian and Iggy Azalea—each launch enriches a select few while leaving retail communities financially decimated.

The Kanye West crypto venture reveals a systemic vulnerability: celebrity brand power attracts retail capital but creates no barrier to insider exploitation. Without regulatory intervention or transparent governance structures, expect this pattern to repeat.

Key Takeaways

• YZY token crashed 75% from its $3 peak to current levels around $0.35
• Top wallets extracted $24 million in combined profits while retail suffered losses averaging hundreds to thousands per trader
• Current Top10 concentration of 96.45% indicates extreme manipulation risk
• Organized sniper networks deliberately target celebrity launches to drain retail liquidity
• Two fan-made competitors suffered 94-99% losses after YZY’s official launch

The Kanye West crypto story isn’t a failure of the celebrity or the token—it’s a failure of market safeguards. Until regulators establish clear rules around insider allocation disclosure and trading coordination, retail investors will continue paying for lessons written in blockchain.