Kanye West Shocks Fans by Launching $YZY Meme Coin on Solana

Kanye West, now officially known as Ye, has stunned both fans and critics by entering the cryptocurrency world with the launch of his own meme coin, $YZY, on the Solana blockchain. The announcement came under the banner of “Yeezy Money,” just months after the rapper publicly dismissed the idea of celebrity crypto tokens.

West took to social media with the message, “YEEZY MONEY IS HERE. A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN,” while directing followers to money.yeezy.com, which introduced his new token. The site describes $YZY as a project designed to give people control over their money, independent from centralized systems. According to the project’s details, 70 percent of the supply is controlled by Yeezy Investments LLC, while 20 percent is allocated to the public and 10 percent to liquidity.

The launch generated immediate hype. Within minutes, data from CoinGecko showed the token soaring nearly 1000 percent, briefly reaching a market capitalization of $3 billion before settling closer to $1.5 billion. At its peak, the YZY/USDC pair recorded a 24-hour high of $3.164 before pulling back, with the token later trading around $1.15.

Beyond just a meme coin, West’s venture includes plans for an entire ecosystem under the “Yeezy Money” brand. This includes Ye Pay, a payment processor aimed at lowering merchant fees, and the YZY Card, which would allow global spending of YZY and USDC like a traditional credit card.

The move marks a complete reversal for the artist. Earlier this year, West dismissed the idea of launching a coin, claiming that many celebrity tokens were “preying on fans with hype.” He even revealed that he once turned down a $2 million deal to promote what he called a “scam.” His harsh comments came shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both unveiled their own official tokens.

Now, with Trump actively pushing for a crypto-friendly America and Wall Street helping drive the total crypto market cap past $4 trillion, Kanye appears to have changed his mind. His decision to launch $YZY signals not just a shift in his personal stance but also the growing pressure for high-profile figures to tap into the digital asset wave.