Singer Kanye's cryptocurrency controversy: attitude reversal, suspicion of selling X account, another meticulously planned "harvest"?

Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

Recently, from publicly resisting Meme coin fraud schemes to being exposed for preparing the YZY token, and then to the suspicion that his X account has been sold, Kanye West's actions are filled with contradictions and doubts. Is he a pawn under the celebrity effect, or a meticulously planned operator? Is the frenzy of speculation in the crypto market being pushed towards a new "harvesting" model?

This article will comprehensively sort out the turmoil surrounding Kanye's token issuance, unveiling a maze of traffic, capital, and the crypto world.

Kanye West (now known as Ye, also called Kanye) is a legendary figure who crosses the boundaries of music, business, and fashion. He has won 24 Grammy Awards and has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people twice; his music has changed the entire hip-hop industry.

At his peak, Kanye West became the richest Black man in America with a net worth of $6.6 billion. In January of this year, after Eton Venture Services assessed Ye's music copyrights and his exclusive ownership of the YEEZY trademark, it confirmed that his net worth still stands at $2.77 billion.

From Rejecting Fraud to Getting Involved?

On February 8, Kanye West posted on the X platform revealing that someone had proposed a "collaboration" to him: to promote a Meme coin for a payment of $2 million, thereby defrauding his fan community. Kanye firmly refused and shared the chat records.

Subsequently, Kanye further stated, "I will not issue a token; I only make products and do what I love and understand. I am too rich to need to do anything else. Tokens deceive fans through hype, just like the hyped sneaker culture."

This incident quickly gained exposure, and discussions in the crypto community about "using celebrity X accounts to issue tokens" surged, with Kanye being seen as a sober industry role model for a time.

However, things began to reverse and became increasingly perplexing.

Last Friday, CoinDesk reported that Kanye was actually preparing his own crypto token—YZY. Insiders revealed that in the token distribution plan, Kanye would receive a 70% share, with 10% for liquidity supply and 20% for investors. The YZY token will serve as the official currency of the Yeezy brand and can be used for payments on the website.

The contradictory attitude has caused an uproar in the crypto community, leading to widespread skepticism and criticism.

Confusing Operations Continue

As the YZY token controversy brewed, Kanye West posted on the X platform: "All Ye-related Memes on the current market are fake; I will launch my own Meme coin next week."

Kanye then repeatedly posted about cryptocurrencies, with one tweet hinting at the launch of a token called "Swasticoin." He wrote in the tweet, "I will first open my Swasticoin's CA (contract address) to the Jewish community and my friends and family."

Meanwhile, Kanye began frequently retweeting Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ)'s tweets and even followed CZ's account for a time. When the community speculated that he would issue a token on the BNB Chain, he unfollowed CZ and instead followed Polychain Capital founder Olaf Carlson-Wee.

However, as of now, most of Kanye's previous tweets have been deleted, and only 7 tweets and one retweet of CZ's content remain on his X homepage.

Many Doubts, X Account Taken Over?

Several crypto KOLs have questioned whether Kanye West's X account has been sold, possibly involving the BarkMeta team, which previously operated crypto fraud projects.

X user @doitbigchicago disclosed that someone plans to launch a Ye-related token and intends to release it on the Solana chain. The project involves teams like BarkMeta, which have previously operated fraudulent projects, and they are suspected of taking over Ye's account to leverage his influence to promote the token. Kanye may have sold the publishing rights of his X account for $20 million, receiving $17 million after a 15% management fee.

Crypto KOL @lokithebird also provided several points of suspicion as evidence:

• Kanye unusually followed a "doginal" account
• The usage habits of emojis in his tweets are highly similar to those of BarkMeta
• Changes in the light and dark settings of Kanye's account

Early this morning, Kanye posted to deny transferring or entrusting his account to BarkMeta, stating that Bark was just "someone he randomly followed before." He emphasized that if he launches a cryptocurrency project in the future, he will announce it in a formal and clear manner.

Despite Kanye's public clarification, the controversy surrounding the control of his account continues.

Character Collapse, Repeated "Harvesting"?

This is not the first time Kanye has "harvested" users in the crypto space. In 2021, Kanye and his collaborators issued several peripheral NFTs:

• Kanye West's single "Can U Be/Forever Mitus" was sold as an NFT
• Kanye West's bulletproof vest and NFT were sold for $50,000

However, by February 2022, Kanye suddenly stated on social media: "Don't make me do NFTs anymore." and claimed he was focusing on real-world creations, such as food and clothing.

But just three months later, he applied for metaverse and NFT-related trademarks for his fashion brand Yeezus through his company, even deleting his previous negative comments about NFTs.

Perhaps, Kanye is such an unpredictable, profit-driven "businessman."

Kanye's token issuance event increasingly resembles a meticulously planned "open conspiracy"—everyone knows this could be a capital game utilizing traffic and influence, yet some are still willing to participate. Some say not to go where the light is bright, while others say where there is traffic and volatility, there is room for profit.

Under the immense temptation of profit, celebrity token issuance seems to have evolved into a mature industrial chain, akin to a "fast-moving consumer goods" game: the profits earned in the short term often come from new followers and their unconditional trust in celebrities. However, this model lacks long-term value support and resembles the extraction of fan economy.

We cannot foresee how many celebrities will join this wave of token issuance in the future, nor can we accurately judge the success or failure of these projects. For investors, being cautious about celebrity tokens and avoiding blindly following hype may be the best strategy to avoid losses.

As for the follow-up developments of Kanye's token issuance incident, we await the official token launch this week.