Celebrities Minting Fortune at Retail Traders' Expense in YZY Crypto Frenzy

Andrew Tate has secured a $41,000 profit from a leveraged short on YZY Money (YZY), a memecoin linked to rapper Kanye West, following the token’s dramatic price swings. According to on-chain data, Tate opened a 3x short position at $0.8524 on the decentralized futures platform Hyperliquid. With YZY’s current price at $0.6571, the trade has yielded a more than 91% gain [4].

The YZY token, launched on the Solana blockchain, surged over 1,400% to a peak price of $3 within an hour of its debut, reaching a market cap of $3 billion before collapsing by 74% in the following 24 hours. The token’s rapid rise and fall have drawn comparisons to other celebrity-backed memecoins, with critics highlighting the highly concentrated distribution and potential for market manipulation [5].

On-chain data reveals that YZY’s supply was heavily skewed toward insiders, with 70% allocated to Yeezy Investments LLC and only 10% reserved for liquidity. The token was also seeded into the liquidity pool with only YZY tokens and no USDC, a structure similar to the controversial LIBRA token. This has enabled large holders to manipulate liquidity and effectively extract value from the token’s volatility [1].

Early traders and insider wallets capitalized on the launch frenzy. Wallet 6MNWV8, for instance, spent 450,611 USDC to acquire 1.29 million YZY tokens at roughly $0.35 each before selling 1.04 million for 1.39 million USDC, securing a $1.5 million profit [1]. Another whale, who invested 12,170 SOL (worth $2.28 million), now holds YZY tokens valued at $8.29 million—an unrealized gain of about $6 million [1].

Despite the massive profits for a select few, over 60% of wallets that traded YZY ended up with losses. Nansen data shows that two traders lost more than $1 million each, with one suffering a $1.8 million hit. The disparity between early gains and widespread losses has sparked renewed debate about the fairness and transparency of celebrity-backed tokens [5].

YZY’s launch also highlights a broader trend in celebrity-driven crypto projects, where tokenomics favor early insiders and liquidity is tightly controlled. Similar patterns have been observed in projects like TRUMP and LIBRA, where a small group of wallets extracted millions while retail investors faced heavy losses [1]. Critics argue that these structures prioritize speculative gains for a few at the expense of retail traders, raising concerns about the integrity of memecoin markets.

In contrast to the volatile YZY token, some market participants are turning their attention to alternative memecoins such as Wall Street Pepe, which emphasize public liquidity, transparent tokenomics, and multichain coordination. These projects aim to differentiate themselves from celebrity-backed tokens by offering a more decentralized and community-driven approach to memecoin development [3].

Source:

[1] Insiders Cash In Millions as Rapper Ye 'Apparently' Issues ... (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/21/insiders-cash-in-millions-as-ye-formerly-kanye-west-apparently-issues-yzy-token)

[2] Kanye West Launches Yeezy Money Meme Coin: 'A New ... (https://www.billboard.com/business/business-news/kanye-west-yeezy-money-meme-coin-launch-1236049036/)

[3] YZY Coin Tanks as Traders Lose Millions in 2025 Frenzy (https://icobench.com/news/yzy-coin-price-crash-exposes-celebrity-crypto-risks-as-traders-lose-millions/)

[4] Andrew Tate Profits $41K From Shorting Kanye West's YZY ... (https://insidebitcoins.com/news/andrew-tate-sits-on-41k-profit-from-shorting-kanye-wests-yzy-meme-coin)

[5] Kanye West YZY Token Crashes 74% After Initial ... (https://blockonomi.com/kanye-west-yzy-token-crashes-74-after-initial-1400-spike/)