Kanye West is reportedly launching his own cryptocurrency, YZY, to serve as the official currency for his Yeezy clothing brand, according to a February 21, 2025, report by CoinDesk.
The news broke after CoinDesk received an unsolicited email from Hussein Lalani, who claimed to be Yeezy’s chief financial officer, detailing the token’s launch. Lalani requested an embargo, but CoinDesk declined, later verifying the plan with three anonymous sources close to the project.
The launch, initially set for Thursday, was pushed to Friday due to delays. YZY will run on the Binance Smart Chain, with 70% of its supply reserved for Ye, 20% for investors, and 10% for liquidity, though the heavy allocation to Ye has raised eyebrows about fairness.
The move comes as Ye looks to rebuild his finances after losing major partnerships with companies like Adidas, Shopify, and Balenciaga following his 2022 antisemitic remarks. Those comments, including praising Adolf Hitler in a live interview and sharing inflammatory posts about Jewish people and other groups on social media, led to widespread backlash and severed ties with his talent agency too.
Most recently, Shopify shut down his online store over his hateful rhetoric. YZY feels like a bold attempt to cash in on his fame, but it’s risky—Ye previously hinted at reaching out to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong about a coin, then backed off in a post, saying, “Coins prey on the fans with hype,” and rejecting a $2 million offer to launch one. That history has some on X skeptical, calling it a potential celebrity cash grab.
For now, details on how YZY will work for Yeezy purchases or its tech specs are thin, but the optics are loud. With Ye’s controversial past and the token’s lopsided distribution, it’s already stirring debate online. Some see it as a fresh start for Ye’s empire, while others worry it could exploit fans, especially given his track record with crypto projects. Whether YZY takes off or flops, it’s another wild twist in Ye’s rollercoaster career, and the crypto community’s watching closely to see if it’s genius or a misstep.
