Author: Luke, Mars Finance

I. Character Collapse: The Magical Reversal from "Justice Refuses $2 Million" to "Keeping 70% of Tokens"

Two weeks ago, Kanye West was publicly sharing chat screenshots on social media, claiming that someone attempted to entice him to issue a "Rug Pull" Meme coin for a reward of $2 million. He firmly stated, "I am too rich to need to issue tokens; tokens are just a scam to exploit fans!" This statement not only garnered widespread attention in the crypto community but was also seen as a "benchmark for celebrity awakening."

However, a shocking reversal suddenly emerged. Today, CoinDesk reported that Kanye is quietly preparing to issue his personal token YZY, and the distribution plan is simply jaw-dropping: 70% of the tokens will belong to him personally, only 10% will be used for liquidity, and the remaining 20% will be distributed to investors. This stands in stark contrast to his previous "justice declaration," leading netizens to mockingly comment, "It turns out he didn't refuse to issue tokens; he just thought $2 million was too little since he wants to keep 70% for himself!" Even more lamentable is that Kanye's team claimed this move was to "avoid the risk of being banned by e-commerce platforms due to controversial statements," attempting to package the token as a "brand savior," but the blatant intent to profit cannot be concealed.

However, Kanye's current reputation in web2 is surprisingly poor, and his commercial actions and statements have repeatedly sparked controversy, with some criticizing him for "harvesting" fans:

• Yeezy series limited releases and hype: The Yeezy series, launched in collaboration with Adidas, is known for its limited releases and high pricing strategy. This marketing tactic has led to skyrocketing prices in the secondary market, with some shoes increasing to dozens of times their original price. This hype has raised consumer concerns about his business ethics.
• Brand harvesting with ex-wife Kim Kardashian: The KKW Beauty brand, co-launched by Kanye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, has faced consumer scrutiny regarding the quality and pricing of some products. Some argue that this high pricing strategy could be seen as "harvesting" fans.

II. Analyst Investigation: Is the YZY Token Already "Secretly Launched"?

Although Kanye's team has not officially announced the token issuance, detectives in the crypto space have already detected unusual signs from on-chain data. Well-known analyst @xohryanx posted his analysis on the X platform, suggesting that the token $YzY might be a "stealth launch" by Kanye's team. However, after carefully comparing the token distribution plan with Kanye's previous public statements, the analyst believes that this token may not be issued by Kanye himself, at least not entirely in accordance with his previous anti-harvesting stance.

Abnormal market cap fluctuations: Two days after the $YzY token was launched, its market cap remained between $600,000 and $1 million, which is quite unusual in the current crypto market. Normally, Meme coins experience wild price swings, but this token has maintained a relatively stable market cap range, leading analysts to believe this may be the result of artificial control. Notably, this token was actually deployed on February 18, and had already reached a market cap of $4 million twice before the news of Kanye's token issuance. As of today, the market cap peaked at $10.26 million, currently falling back to $2.44 million.

Kanye's "cold start" strategy: @xohryanx mentioned that Kanye has never liked to promote things loudly, especially not through collaborations with insiders or influencers to hype his projects. This "self-centered" working style makes it likely that only a few people are aware of the token's issuance. If information leaks, Kanye would likely cut ties with those individuals immediately to avoid external hype. However, compared to Kanye's previous anti-harvesting stance, the $YzY token distribution plan seems inconsistent with his "justice declaration." According to disclosed information, 70% of the tokens will belong to the issuer, with the remaining portion held only by a few investors and liquidity providers, which clearly contradicts Kanye's previous stance of "avoiding harvesting." Analyzing this distribution plan suggests that the true operators behind the token may not be Kanye himself, but rather his team or other third parties.

Secretive holding structure: Analysis shows that the top ten holders of the $YzY token only account for 16% of the total issuance, with the largest holding ratio being 1%. The asset situation of these holders indicates that they have already gained considerable profits from the token's rise, yet they have chosen not to sell. This further proves the token's controlled characteristics, with no obvious signs of machine-generated trading volume.

Timing and utility: Kanye's Yeezy brand is set to relaunch on February 24, exactly one week after the token's launch. This coincidental timing raises speculation that Kanye may be providing a "payment scenario" for the token to increase its practical application value, undoubtedly injecting potential utility into the token.

Impact of Super Bowl ads and social media: @xohryanx believes that Kanye's Super Bowl ads and tweets on social media seem to have failed to garner enough attention, which may have prompted him to choose to issue a Meme coin to attract more eyes and achieve self-promotion. If Kanye really releases a token, it will undoubtedly attract widespread attention.

In summary, @xohryanx believes that Kanye will adopt an unconventional method to issue the $YzY token, namely through a "cold start" to accumulate chips, maintain a certain market stability, and use "mystery" to stimulate market speculation. Although this strategy has significant potential, the token's distribution indicates that the leaked information about the token distribution does not align, suggesting that the true issuer of the token may not be Kanye himself. Investors should make cautious decisions and only invest what they can afford to lose.

III. Community Outrage: "Hypocritical Merchant" Under Siege, Are Celebrity Coins More Detestable than VC Coins?

After the news broke, the crypto community was in an uproar, with netizens expressing their outrage at Kanye's actions, labeling him as "extremely hypocritical." Previously, Kanye had firmly rejected a $2 million token collaboration, claiming he despised exploiting fans for tokens, earning him considerable applause. But shortly after, he announced the launch of his exclusive Meme coin YZY, with 70% of the tokens going to himself. This reversal shocked many, as netizens remarked, "Kanye has figured it out; rather than letting others harvest his fans, why not just harvest them himself? The last refusal wasn't out of righteousness; it was purely because he thought the earnings were too low!" This shift led many to believe that everything Kanye does is not out of ideals or principles, but rather naked economic motives.

In this incident, the focus of discussion centered on the essential differences between celebrity coins and VC coins. Although both are highly controlled and have low circulation, the community's reactions to them are starkly different. Compared to VC coins (venture capital coins) that harvest the market through high valuations and low liquidity, celebrity coins appear more direct and malicious—they exploit fans' trust to achieve their economic benefits through "harvesting." According to voting results, 72.8% of netizens expressed that they dislike celebrity coins more, revealing a profound aversion to celebrity coins within the crypto community.

In the comparison between celebrity coins and VC coins, many believe that although VC coins carry risks of manipulation and overvaluation, at least investors can "farm" (earn short-term profits). However, celebrity coins are entirely different; fans ultimately end up "being harvested" without any real returns. One netizen bluntly commented, "Fool, this person is harvesting from web2 to web3? The obvious trend now is that VC coins are about to launch, while celebrity coins will be quiet for a while. At least with VC coins, you can still farm; with celebrity coins, he just farms you."

This outburst of sentiment reflects the crypto market's deep disdain for the star effect and speculative behavior. When celebrities view their fans' support as a business opportunity rather than trust, such commercialization clearly crosses the public's bottom line.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether CoinDesk's report is accurate, the community has shown strong aversion to celebrities issuing Meme coins and exploiting Web3 to harvest fans. Investors need to remain vigilant and avoid blindly following trends. For the Web3 world, rational thinking and a deep understanding of the project's essence remain the best strategies to avoid being "harvested."

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