Kanye West Denies Association With YZY Token

Singer and rapper Kanye West has officially disassociated himself with the recent YZY memecoin which quickly surged and collapsed in a matter of days.

West claims that the release of the token was not his doing, and his instagram was hacked to promote the fraudulent coin.

"My Instagram has been hacked and it's following a fake coin.. The official project is @YZY_MNY.

Oddly enough, West went on to share a fresh Solana wallet address associated with the new initiative, further implying his endorsement of a different digital asset project.

So far, his team has offered no additional details regarding the alleged account breach, and Meta, the parent firm of Instagram, has yet to comment publicly on the claim.

$24 Million in Liquidity Wiped Out

The original YZY token, launched only days before Ye’s post, saw massive trading activity before liquidity collapsed.

Data aggregated from platforms such as Birdeye and DEX Screener revealed that wallet addresses tied to the token’s deployer dumped significant portions of supply shortly after launch.

This wave of selling drained more than $24 million in liquidity, leaving traders with steep losses and sending the token’s price to near zero.

Influencers who promoted the token on social media in the lead-up to trading frenzy began deleting their posts following the collapse.

The incident underscores the persistent risks in memecoin markets, particularly when tokens are tied — officially or not — to high-profile celebrities.

Community Pushback and Skepticism

Despite Ye’s disavowal, large sections of the online crypto community remain unconvinced. Popular account Autism Capital expressed skepticism on X, writing:

“Kanye West claims his IG was ‘hacked’ and was promoting a fake coin several days AFTER all the dumping was done of his original coin. He then advertised a NEW coin saying ‘this is the real coin.’ Haven’t we seen this playbook before? The grifting never ends.”

This sentiment reflects a growing distrust of celebrity-linked crypto projects. Without clear disclosures or regulatory guardrails, the overlap between viral promotion and financial speculation continues to fuel questions about accountability.

Celebrity Memecoins and the Regulatory Gray Zone

The dispute surrounding YZY token comes amid a string of controversies involving celebrities and Web3 in 2024 and 2025. From unauthorized launches to questionable endorsements, the space has repeatedly blurred the line between genuine involvement and opportunistic branding.

Legal accountability remains murky. Unless celebrities formally disclose partnerships or financial ties, proving liability for failed token launches is complex.

Regulators are still grappling with how to treat promotional posts on social platforms when those endorsements may shift millions in trading volume in a matter of hours.

For investors, sensational token launches tied to household names still carry outsized risk. And for the wider Web3 industry, these episodes highlight the need for stronger transparency, clearer frameworks, and heightened due diligence in an environment where memecoin hype often outpaces oversight.

The Bigger Picture

Whether Ye’s Instagram was truly compromised or whether the timeline raises deeper questions, the fallout from the YZY token shows how celebrity branding continues to hold dangerous sway over token markets.

A single social media account tied to a global figure can move millions in liquidity overnight — regardless of whether the project being promoted is legitimate or not.

As memecoins remain a defining part of the Web3 narrative, the YZY saga serves as a cautionary tale: volatility, unclear endorsements, and regulatory uncertainty make the space fertile ground not just for innovation, but for controversy.