13 Wallets Cash Out $24M from Kanye West’s YZY Token as Retail Investors Face Heavy Losses

YZY Token Launch Sparks Frenzy—and Pain

The launch of Kanye West’s YZY memecoin on Solana created a trading frenzy that left a trail of winners and losers. Within the first hour of trading, YZY surged 1,400%, briefly hitting a peak of $3, before collapsing to $0.77 less than a day later—a 74% crash from its highs, according to data from Nansen.

While retail investors piled in, a small group of 13 wallets pocketed $24.5 million in profits by rapidly selling into the hype. Each of these wallets made over $1 million, highlighting what many analysts see as a coordinated sniper operation.

Thousands of Wallets Caught in the Collapse

Blockchain data shows that:

• Over 56,000 wallets interacted with the token on launch day.

• More than 27,000 wallets still hold at least $1 worth of YZY.

• Of the first 99 wallets to buy YZY, only nine still hold tokens today.

The fallout has been severe for many traders:

• One wallet realized a $1.8 million loss, the largest recorded.

• Another wallet lost $1.2 million.

• A third investor is still holding YZY at an unrealized $800,000 loss.

Top 10 YZY traders extracted more than $18 million. Source: Nansen

Related: U.S. Crypto Funds Exceed $7.5B in 2025 Inflows Amid Growing Investor Confidence

Coordinated Snipers and Insider Activity

Blockchain analytics firms say the YZY token launch wasn’t just unlucky retail trading—it may have been orchestrated.

• Bubblemaps revealed that the very first YZY buyer was the same sniper behind the Trump memecoin, who previously made millions.

• The firm also reported links between this sniper and another wallet operator with a history of coordinated token sniping.

• Crypto sleuth “Dethtective” suggested that the same group was behind the LIBRA token scheme, where tens of millions were extracted through insider tactics.

“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.”

YZY pumps and dumps as snipers make off with millions. Source: Nansen 

A Pattern of Celebrity Memecoin Pump-and-Dumps

The YZY saga is just the latest in a growing list of celebrity-backed memecoins that follow a familiar pump-and-dump pattern:

• Haliey Welch’s HAWK token, based on her “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase, lost 90% within hours of launch, leaving retail investors down millions.

• Kim Kardashian, Iggy Azalea, Caitlyn Jenner, and Lindsay Lohan have all been linked to controversial memecoin promotions or projects that ended in steep price crashes.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes weighed in on the YZY collapse, joking:

“Oopsie… fam next time pls don’t let me trade shitters like YZY. Should have just kept two-steppin.”

Conclusion: Lessons from the YZY Crash

The YZY token’s rapid boom-and-bust cycle highlights the risks of celebrity-backed memecoins. While a small circle of coordinated wallets extracted massive profits, retail traders once again bore the losses.

For investors, the lesson is clear: hype-driven tokens can turn into transfer-of-wealth schemes—with insiders holding the upper hand.

Related: Bitcoin Hodler Sells $60M BTC After 7 Years, Rotates Into $282M Ether Long