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. Some companies, including Shopify, previously severed ties with him due to his hate speech.
The YZY token is named after Ye’s fashion brand Yeezy and will serve as the official token for Yeezy, usable for payments on its website. Seventy percent of the tokens will be owned by Ye personally, with only 10% allocated for liquidity and 20% distributed to investors.
Sources indicate that Ye wishes to emulate the meme coin TRUMP, issued by former President Donald Trump, which has drawn controversy due to 80% of its supply being held by a company associated with Trump, CIC Digital. In discussions, Ye initially sought to secure 80% of the YZY supply but negotiated it down to 70%.
According to a press release obtained by CoinDesk, Ye’s 70% token holdings will be released according to a multi-phase unlocking schedule, with some tokens locked for up to 12 months. Some critics argue that such a high insider holding ratio benefits the founder while disadvantaging retail investors.
The YZY team was originally set to conduct the token sale on Thursday afternoon on Yeezy’s official website; however, a team member, who requested anonymity due to concerns about public association with the project, stated that the launch has been postponed to Friday. The delay is attributed to the team’s ongoing assessment of whether the YZY launch is too closely aligned with the highly controversial LIBRA incident, which recently embroiled Argentine President Javier Milei in a political storm.
Related reports: “Kanye West Allegedly Proposed to Promote a Scam Project, Later Claimed to Be Hacked and Could Earn $2 Million.”