Kanye West’s YZY memecoin left thousands of wallets devastated as coordinated snipers extracted millions while retail investors lost out.
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A total of 13 wallets made more than a million dollars each trading Kanye West-linked YZY, according to data from Nansen.
The YZY token was on Solana on Thursday by the rapper, with the top 13 wallets profiting a total of $24.5 million as they dumped the token.
The YZY token spiked 1,400% within an hour of its launch, hitting a peak price of $3 before dumping again, to Nansen. In less than 24 hours since the spike, the token has dropped 74% to about $0.77. The launch was controversial, with many observers pointing to alleged insider sales and snipers.
A Dune Analytics indicated that more than 56,000 wallets interacted with the memecoin, while Nansen reported that there were still over 27,000 wallets holding more than $1 worth.
Data also showed that out of the first 99 addresses to buy the token, only nine still held any YZY at the time of writing.
YZY holder realizes a $1.8 million loss
The biggest loser, according to Nansen, was a wallet that realized a loss of $1.8 million, followed by a wallet that lost $1.2 million. One trader was still holding its YZY tokens with an unrealized loss of more than $800,000.
An elite group of snipers and insiders
Crypto data provider Bubblemaps , “This is worse than we thought,” after revealing the identity of the first buyer as the sniper who first bought the Trump () memecoin, making millions in the process.
It added that it also received intel pointing to another sniper who had shared funds and sniped tokens alongside this one in the past.
“There’s an elite group of snipers who don’t compete but coordinate, making millions destroying charts.”
Meanwhile, a blockchain sleuth linked the sniper, “Naseem,” to another set of wallets behind the controversial LIBRA token, suggesting that the same operator extracted tens of millions of dollars using insider knowledge.
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“These celebrity coins are usually described as a way to onboard people,” the sleuth going by the handle “Dethtective” said, before adding, “To me it looks more like a transfer of wealth that makes the rich even richer.”
Celeb memecoin pump and dumps
It is not the first time a celebrity has launched a memecoin that has pumped and dumped to controversy.
TikTok influencer Haliey Welch launched a memecoin , named for her infamous “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase, in December.
The chart pattern was uncannily similar to YZY’s as the memecoin in a few hours, sparking outrage and allegations of sniping and insider trading. Retail traders lost millions, while a group of insiders pocketed $3 million, according to Bubblemaps.
Other celebrities, including , Iggy Azalea, and Lindsay Lohan, have been entangled in alleged memecoin pump-and-dump .
“Oopsie… fam next time pls don’t let me trade shitters like YZY. Should have just kept two-steppin,” BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
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