Most celebrity-backed coins collapse quickly, prompting industry views that the majority are scams.
Kanye West’s official Solana-based memecoin, YZY, has collapsed more than 80% from its peak in just seven days after launch.
The predictable downfall followed West’s claim on social media that his Instagram account had been hacked to promote a fake version of the token.
The “real” YZY token sunk to the bottom of the charts, while the alleged fake briefly hit an all-time high.
Despite his claims, industry observers and fans have remained unconvinced about his credibility in the crypto space.
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That same day, his Instagram account was shown following a profile named “yzytoken,” which promoted what appeared to be the imposter memecoin.
The fake coin, created on Pump.fun, surged to a market cap of approximately $7 million before crashing the next day.
The Real Coin Plummets
West’s official memecoin fared little better.
Since its debut, the token has tumbled more than 80%.
Kanye West’s YZY token plummets | Credit: Coin Gecko
The YZY coin initially spiked to a fully diluted valuation of around $3 billion, but as of now, its market cap sits at just $72.2 million.
The disastrous launch drew little surprise, given West’s history of controversial online ventures.
Are All Celebrity Memecoins Scams?
Celebrity-branded tokens have gained a reputation for being short-lived cash grabs, with little substance beyond hype and star power.
In December, Hailey Welch, known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl” after her viral moment, launched the $HAWK token on Solana.
Within minutes, it reached a market cap of nearly $500 million, only to collapse by 95% within the hour.
Blockchain data later showed that 96% of the supply had been pre-allocated to just ten insider wallets, which quickly dumped their holdings and tanked the price.
Commenting on the trend, blockchain author David Gerard told The Guardian that “basically” all memecoins are scams.
“All of this is like a big game of pretend with made-up financial instruments,” Gerard said.
“It’s printing your own made-up money. You print your own Monopoly money and then people buy it from you for real money.”
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
