Ye Drops Yeezy Money Crypto and It’s Already Making Waves

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, just made his next big move and it is not an album. On Wednesday (Aug. 20), Ye launched his own cryptocurrency, a meme coin called Yeezy Money, on the Solana blockchain.

“Yeezy money is here,” he posted to X, calling on his millions of followers to jump in. “A new economy, built on chain.”

In a follow-up video, Ye took the excitement up a notch: “The official Yeezy token just dropped.”

The project’s website explains that YZY Money (YZE) is all about giving users more control. “YZY MONEY IS A CONCEPT TO PUT YOU IN CONTROL, FREE FROM CENTRALIZED AUTHORITY,” reads a message on the site. It is set up for buying, selling, and sending YZE, and even includes Ye Pay, a payment processor, a YZY card for spending, and support for the stablecoin USDC.

Crypto watchers took notice right away. As Forbes highlighted, YZY Money’s market cap soared to $3 billion within hours of launch before settling at around $1.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. That rollercoaster ride is typical in the crypto world but still shows major interest in Ye’s new venture.

This is not Ye’s first time praising crypto. Back in 2020, during an interview with Joe Rogan, he spoke about Bitcoin’s role in shaping the future.

“These guys really have a perspective on what the true liberation of America and humanity will be,” Ye said then. “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.”

Whether Yeezy Money turns into the next big thing in crypto or just another flash in the pan, Ye has once again put himself at the center of culture, tech, and controversy, exactly where he seems to like being.