Investigating Kanye West’s YZY Chaos: Insider Bragging, TRUMP–LIBRA Connection and More
Kanye West’s (Ye) new YZY meme coin launch on Solana was billed as one other cultural second from one in all music’s most influential figures. As a substitute, it has was a case research in how superstar tokens can spiral into controversy.
On-chain knowledge reveals a wierd connection between YZY insiders and early LIBRA and TRUMP meme coin merchants. Investigations additionally present a determine named ‘Mikey Shelton’ behind the insider pump-and-dump setup.
Some Merchants Misplaced Hundreds of thousands on Kanye’s YZY
The YZY token went live on August 21, 2025. Inside 40 minutes, it surged to a $3 billion market cap, earlier than falling again to almost a 3rd of that.
Nansen’s evaluation reveals 62,465 wallets traded YZY on launch day, producing excessive outcomes:
- Earnings: +$50.4 million realized throughout the highest 500 wallets.
- Losses: −$21.4 million realized.
- Largest revenue: $3 million.
- Largest loss: $1.3 million.
- Liquidity pool: earned $10 million in charges.
Briefly, a handful of wallets captured hundreds of thousands in upside whereas 1000’s of retail merchants ended up within the crimson.
The Shady Function of Mikey Shelton
Some of the putting post-launch developments got here from Mikey Shelton, a reputation that had already appeared in Ye’s circle earlier this 12 months.
Again in February, Ye shared a conversation with Shelton through which he informed him: “You’re the model. No matter it’s will do nicely. Some issues are higher than others. It’s about who you belief.”
After YZY’s launch, Shelton’s Instagram Tales circulated broadly. In a single, over a black display, he wrote “Greatest day.” Connected was a chat message:
“We made $160k in first 10 min. Nonetheless haven’t bought slightly below $300.”
The implication was clear: Shelton and his circle had secured insider entry, reaping six-figure features inside minutes of the token going stay.
So the man who’s behind $YZY token is publicly bragging about insider buying and selling and rugging for MILLIONS of {dollars} on his IG
pic.twitter.com/iba5ndGsoP
— Gordon (@AltcoinGordon) August 21, 2025
Whether or not this was easy bragging or a direct admission, the optics added gasoline to claims of insider buying and selling round YZY.
Now, Mikey Shelton’s on-line presence can also be mysterious. His final Twitter publish was in August 2023. He’s seemingly lively on Instagram, however maintains a personal profile.
Notably, Shelton mentions Baylor College and Stanford in his Insta bio. Did a Stanford graduate orchestrate this pump-and-dump?
On-chain Proof of Insider Exercise
A number of on-chain analysts corroborated these suspicions with pockets traces. Dethective recognized two “sniper” wallets that extracted a mixed $23 million throughout YZY and another coin, LIBRA.
These wallets have been ready earlier than launch and pushed giant quantities by means of liquidity swimming pools. On-chain knowledge reveals they solely sniped YZY and LIBRA — by no means different tokens — suggesting inside data relatively than luck.
In the meantime, Bubblemaps reported that the very first YZY purchaser was Naseem. This is similar dealer who remodeled $100 million on the TRUMP meme coin earlier this 12 months.
The evaluation linked wallets between TRUMP, LIBRA, and YZY, exhibiting constant early entry. The primary YZY buy was a $250,000 purchase on August 21, and that pockets has already realized $800,000 in revenue whereas nonetheless holding $600,000.
Collectively, these findings increase severe questions: how do the identical wallets repeatedly find yourself first in line for superstar meme coin launches? And is that this skillful sniping — or privileged entry?
Many common crypto figures even claimed they knew early about Kanye West’s token launch. Nonetheless, some kept away from taking part resulting from moral and ethical causes.
This narrative is bolstered by Nansen’s numbers: solely 9,413 wallets booked greater than $10 in revenue, whereas almost 16,000 wallets booked greater than $10 in losses.
What This Means for YZY and Future Movie star Cash
The YZY episode reveals repeating patterns in 2025’s superstar token scene:
- Pre-loaded insiders: Wallets seem primed earlier than contracts are public, coming into with big dimension.
- Bragging rights: Figures near the undertaking — like Mikey Shelton — amplify suspicions by brazenly celebrating windfalls.
- Repeat gamers: The identical wallets floor throughout TRUMP, LIBRA, and now YZY, elevating the query of organized insider teams.
- Retail losses: Tens of 1000’s of smaller wallets persistently lose out, changing into the exit liquidity for early consumers.
In comparison with TRUMP’s $29.5 billion opening volume, YZY’s $724 million could look smaller. However the dynamics are the identical: insiders win, latecomers lose, and transparency is missing.
Backside Line
YZY was purported to mark Ye’s entry into Web3. As a substitute, its first day underscored how superstar tokens have develop into looking grounds for insiders.
Mikey Shelton’s Instagram posts, on-chain pockets evaluation, Bubblemaps’ TRUMP-YZY hyperlink, and Nansen’s exhausting knowledge all level in the identical path: the launch closely favored a couple of well-positioned gamers.
Whether or not Ye himself orchestrated this or was leveraged by these round him stays unclear. What is evident is that YZY has added one other cautionary story to the rising record of celebrity crypto experiments, and retail buyers as soon as once more paid the value.
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