According to a report by CoinDesk citing three informed sources, American rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) plans to launch his own token, YZY, aimed at helping Ye circumvent platform bans. Several companies, including Shopify, previously severed ties with him due to his hate speech.
The YZY token, named after Ye’s fashion brand Yeezy, will serve as the official token of Yeezy and can be used for payments on its website. Ye will personally own 70% of the tokens, with only 10% allocated for liquidity and 20% distributed to investors.
Sources indicate that Ye wants to emulate the meme coin TRUMP, issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, which has been controversial due to 80% of its token supply being held by a company associated with Trump, CIC Digital. Insiders revealed that Ye originally sought to obtain 80% of the YZY supply but reduced this to 70% after negotiations.
According to a press release obtained by CoinDesk, Ye’s 70% token holding will be released according to a multi-phase unlock schedule, with some tokens locked for up to 12 months. Some critics argue that this high proportion of insider holdings still favors the founder at the expense of retail investors.
The YZY team initially planned to conduct the token sale on Yeezy’s official website on Thursday afternoon. However, according to a team member who requested anonymity due to fears of public association with the project, the launch has been postponed to Friday. The delay is due to the team still evaluating whether the YZY launch is too close to the highly controversial LIBRA incident, which has recently embroiled Argentine President Javier Milei in a political storm.
Related reports: “Kanye West Claims Proposal to Promote Fraudulent Project, Later States He Was Hacked and Could Earn $2 Million.”
