Ye Rejects $2M Crypto Scam Offer, Seeks Legit Coinbase Link

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has revealed that he turned down a $2 million offer to promote a crypto scam. The scheme involved posting a fraudulent crypto promotion to his 32.6 million followers and claiming his account was hacked hours later, potentially leaving victims with significant financial losses.

In a Feb. 7 Xpost, West shared a screenshot of the proposal, which promised an upfront payment of $750,000 to share the crypto promotion and keep it live for 8 hours. After that, he was supposed to claim his account was hacked, followed by a $1.25 million payout 16 hours later. The message warned that the company asking him to do this would be scamming the public out of tens of millions of dollars.

An hour later, West shared a screenshot of a private conversation where he asked an unnamed X user to share a "crypto connect" name that wouldn't require a middleman. The user responded by naming Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and offering to request his phone number for West.

Crypto commentators have weighed in on the development. Armeanio suggested that West should consider using crypto to sell his merchandise rather than launching a memecoin, stating that "celebrity tokens generally bring a reckoning on retail." Meanwhile, Crypto Vic predicts that West won't launch a token and is likely just creating buzz ahead of his upcoming album release, noting that "he is a master marketer."

This incident comes after US President Donald Trump launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin just days before he was inaugurated in January. However, the memecoin fell 38% a day after its launch when First Lady Melania Trump launched her own memecoin. A recent survey revealed that many buyers of the Official Trump and Official Melania memecoins were unaware of the risks associated with these types of investments.