Ye (formerly Kanye West) has entered the crypto business. The rapper launched his Yeezy Money meme coin on the Solana blockchain on Wednesday (Aug. 20).
“Yeezy money is here,” Ye wrote in his announcement to X, looking for his more than 33 million followers to join him. “A new economy, built on chain.” He added in a follow-up post with a selfie video, “The official Yeezy token just dropped.”
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A website for Yeezy Money is up and running for users to buy, sell and send YZY Money (YZE). “YZY MONEY IS A CONCEPT TO PUT YOU IN CONTROL, FREE FROM CENTRALIZED AUTHORITY,” a message on the site reads. “YZY IS THE CURRENCY THAT POWERS ALL TRANSACTIONS WITHIN YZY MONEY.” The meme coin’s website also includes a Ye Pay processor for payments, spending with a YZY card and the stablecoin USDC.
According to CoinGecko, as pointed out by Forbes, YZY Money’s value exploded following the launch to a market cap of $3 billion before falling back to $1.5 billion.
The Chicago native has long been interested with cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as it relates to the global economy. He championed those who have been trailblazers in the crypto space during a 2020 interview with Joe Rogan.
“These guys really have a perspective on what the true liberation of America and humanity will be,” Ye said at the time. “A lot of the tech guys, but specifically [Bitcoin] guys were able to use the new highways, the new information highways, and create the next frontier of our existence while the powers of our political system are still anchoring on the electoral college, which was based around slavery.”
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