Kanye West’s YZY memecoin left thousands of wallets reeling after coordinated snipers extracted millions while retail investors took heavy losses.
Blockchain analytics firm Nansen said 13 wallets made over $1 million each trading the YZY token, cashing in a combined $24.5 million. The token, launched on Solana on Thursday, surged 1,400% within an hour to $3 before collapsing 74% to $0.77 less than a day later.
A Dune Analytics query showed more than 56,000 wallets interacted with the token, with 27,000 still holding more than $1 worth. Of the first 99 addresses to buy YZY, only nine retained any holdings at the time of reporting.
Nansen data highlighted staggering losses: one wallet lost $1.8 million, another $1.2 million, while a trader still holds YZY with an unrealized loss exceeding $800,000.
Blockchain intelligence firm Bubblemaps described the scale of coordinated activity as “worse than we thought,” identifying the first buyer as the same sniper behind the Trump memecoin. It said another known sniper, with shared funding links, also participated. “There’s an elite group of snipers who don’t compete but coordinate, making millions destroying charts,” Bubblemaps wrote.
Independent sleuth “Dethtective” linked one sniper, known as “Naseem,” to wallets tied to the controversial LIBRA token, suggesting tens of millions had been siphoned across multiple launches.
“These celebrity coins are usually described as a way to onboard people,” Dethtective said. “To me it looks more like a transfer of wealth that makes the rich even richer.”
The YZY controversy follows a pattern of celebrity-linked memecoins. TikTok influencer Haliey Welch’s HAWK token dumped 90% within hours in December, while projects tied to Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Caitlyn Jenner and Lindsay Lohan have all drawn accusations of pump-and-dump schemes.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes posted on X after the YZY collapse: “Oopsie… fam next time pls don’t let me trade shitters like YZY. Should have just kept two-steppin.”
