After being cancelled for starting a swastika shirt, Singer and rapper Kanye West is doubling down his efforts by announcing the release of a cryptocurrency token dubbed "Swasticoin".
In a series of now-deleted social media posts on Saturday, West announced plans to release the token next week, which seems like a slap on the face for West, who had previously criticised similar projects for exploiting fans with hype.
Kanye West's racially charged crusade
According to his social media post, the token will give priority to Jewish people, friends and family. West wrote on his social media post
"I'm going to open the CA for my Swasticoin to Jewish people and my friends and family first."
The release of this Swasticoin follows a slew of other racially charged comments that West had made for the past few weeks. Recently, the west also faced widespread condemnation after selling t-shirts featuring a swastika under the product code "HH-01", allegedly referencing "Heil Hitler."
A commercial aired during the super Bowl directed viewers to the website selling the shirts, which has since been taken down.
But despite all the controversy and backlash West is getting for all these comments, he remains unapologetic.
In addition to the release of the new coin, West has also engaged with cryptocurrency-related discussions, asking his followers about blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and Hyperliquid. It was also reported that West attempted to reach out to Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao
He also appeared to attempt contact with Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, after commenting in a post asking his fans to give him CZ's phone number. Fans were also shocked to see that West also reposted one of CZ's comments about the usability of decentralized exchanges.
While West has referred to this new coin as the Swasticoin, but sources close to West has revealed that the project might be named "YZY" instead. According to these sources, West also plans to retain 70% of the token's supply for himself, raising concern about centralization and potential regulatory scrutiny.
Celebritity backed memecoin
Kanye West is not the first person who has announced that he would be making a memecoin under his name. Other celebrities, from politics to entertainment to sports, have also tried their hands at crypto by launching their own tokens or memecoins.
From U.S President Donald Trump's $Trump to Argentine Presidnet Javier Melei's $LIBRA crypto token, several of these suddenly announced projects have come under heavy criticism from the crypto industry for alleged insider trading and pumps and dumps.
$TRUMP
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Drop your Solana $SOL address below, Follow🔔, Like & RT 📌
Every wallet gets 1M $TRUMP
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Check your wallet 5 HRS ⏰
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>— TRUMP COIN 🪙 (@Trumpcoinreal1) February 22, 2025
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Despite claiming that the token would be launched next week, but West unpredictable nature leaves room for doubt.
In his latest post, he revealed an even more ambitious plan, claiming that he would be launching his own blockchain, signalling his ambition to build a digital empire on his terms.