Kanye West plans to drop $YZY token and owns 70% of stake after saying ‘coins prey on fans with hype’

Key Takeaways

Ye plans to launch YZY token as a method to bypass platforms like Shopify.
YZY token distribution allocates 70% to Ye and goals to be the official forex for Ye’s web site.

Simply days after Kanye West, now often known as Ye, likened “cash” to hype-driven sneakers that prey on followers, he now plans to drop a token known as YZY.

Three sources with information of the challenge advised CoinDesk that the token, named after his Yeezy clothes model, goals to avoid platforms like Shopify which have severed ties with the artist after a sequence of hateful, and antisemitic tweets.

The YZY token’s distribution is closely skewed in the direction of Ye. He’ll personally maintain 70% of the tokens, with solely 10% for liquidity and 20% for buyers, in keeping with the report. Ye additionally plans to let YZY be the official forex for purchases on his web site.

Sources reported that Ye’s strategy was impressed by the TRUMP meme coin launched by President Donald Trump forward of his inauguration, which additionally had a extremely centralized possession construction. Ye initially needed an 80% stake in YZY however was negotiated all the way down to 70%.

The token’s construction features a multi-phase vesting schedule, with some cash locked for as much as 12 months.

The launch, initially scheduled for Thursday at 6:00 p.m., has been delayed to Friday, in keeping with a crew member who requested anonymity. Details about the token got here to mild by an unsolicited electronic mail from somebody claiming to be Yeezy’s CFO.

The launch delay comes because the crew considers timing considerations following the current controversy surrounding Argentina’s President Javier Milei’s LIBRA token.

From ‘cash prey on followers’ to…Ye’s personal coin?

Ye returned to X earlier this month, initiating a day-long rant on the platform.

Among the many posts that caught crypto neighborhood members’ consideration was a screenshot the place he declined a $2 million promotion deal from an unidentified contact who provided him cash to advertise a fraudulent crypto.

The proposed deal concerned maintaining a misleading promotional submit reside for a particular interval earlier than claiming an account hack, indicating a broader scheme which will clarify some celeb account hacks on X beforehand attributed to safety breaches. The disclosure has led to wider hypothesis relating to the authenticity of comparable previous incidents involving celeb account hacks to advertise crypto tokens.

In a separate submit, he signaled curiosity in connecting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong “regarding crypto.”

Hypothesis of a Ye-backed crypto token arose after his X posts, however he shortly clarified he was not “doing a coin.”

The voice behind “Stronger” and “Violent Crime” claimed he solely pursues initiatives he’s passionate and educated about, and a meme coin launch doesn’t fall into that class.

Ye additionally argued he was too rich to want such a enterprise and criticized cash for exploiting fan hype, evaluating them to the hyped sneaker tradition he himself helped create.

Now it has change into recognized {that a} Ye-backed coin is taking form behind the scenes.