Summary
- Ye, who was formerly known as Kanye West, introduced an official meme coin on Tuesday, leading to the collapse of other tokens tied to the artist.
- Yeezy Coin and Swasticoin were introduced around six months ago, with supporters thinking they were part of an artistic performance or an alternate reality game.
- Now, investors are facing significant losses with coins backed by communities that have been associated with antisemitism.
Meme coins linked to Ye, previously known as Kanye West, have seen declines after the rapper launched his official Solana coin on Wednesday.
Ye has been involved in the crypto space for months, leading to two notable meme coin communities that fervently believed they were part of an intricate performance art or an alternate reality game.
Holders of Yeezy Coin and Swasticoin experienced a rude awakening following the launch of Ye’s YZY Money this week.
As speculation grew on Tuesday about Ye’s impending official meme coin release, both tokens surged in value. With Ye’s decision seemingly disavowing the earlier tokens, Yeezy Coin has plummeted 88% from its peak on Tuesday, while Swasticoin has fallen nearly 78% from its Wednesday peak, as per DEX Screener.
“What is happening? Are we still in this?” a member in the 4NBT Yeezy Coin Telegram group exclaimed (Yeezy Coin is also noted as “4NBT,” a reference to its contract address).
“They manipulated our emotions for six months. Goodbye,” another user commented shortly after Ye released the official YZY contract address.
The 4NBT community has meticulously scrutinized Ye’s social media for the last six months, convinced that he was dropping hints of his support for the token. The Pump.fun token deployer, known as “JewMoney,” would routinely alter their bio, prompting holders to interpret the messages almost like sacred texts.
Decrypt reported in March that these token communities have become hotbeds for the spread of antisemitism and Nazi-related ideologies, with some Swasticoin enthusiasts diminishing the significance of the Nazi swastika and engaging in Holocaust denial, resorting to the use of slurs and other damaging stereotypes.
Sections of the 4NBT community claimed the initiative was critiquing “those in control of the media,” or those with a desire to dominate global wealth—narratives that have been historically used to rationalize discrimination and violence against Jewish individuals throughout history.
In response to Ye’s official token reveal, a 4NBT Telegram moderator stated “I’m seriously becoming a real-life Nazi,” repeating it four times, before adding, “I’m currently planning the next Holocaust.”
Within both communities, obscure figures arose as leaders, formulating theories that touted their meme coin as the true token. Some claimed to have direct links with Ye’s team, or described themselves as “insiders.”
“What a shock, KanYew deceived us,” a dismayed 4NBT buyer vented on Telegram. “Six months just to discover we were played lol,” another chimed in.
One prevalent theory among the 4NBT community suggested that Swasticoin was part of an art project orchestrated by Ye to entrap the greedy before revealing 4NBT as the genuine token in a twist of false prophecy.
This is why, even though Ye published the contract address to a different coin, along with a video endorsing it, and the token reached a peak market cap of $3.18 billion, certain members of the community persist in their belief that this is all part of an elaborate scheme.
“It might be a deepfake of him saying that,” a 4NBT holder speculated about the Ye video. “Let’s buy more 4NBT,” another suggested. “So are we receiving airdrops now, or did we just get scammed?” another anxious community member inquired.
One belief that persists in the community is that the official YZY token website mentions the launch of 25 tokens, with one randomly chosen to be the legitimate one. Consequently, a dwindling group of users continues to think that the launch is merely another plot twist in the false prophet narrative.
“Am I the only one who thinks this isn’t as dire as it appears?” a Telegram user asked. “Yep, just you,” another quickly retorted.
“I’m a bit confused. What Ye posted—is that the official coin, or just another diversion? I just woke up,” a user expressed. “Diversion,” came a swift response, followed by an outburst about the 25 token theory.
4NBT is now down over 94% from its all-time high market cap of $33.18 million to $1.9 million. Swasticoin has decreased over 99% from its $180 million peak market cap to just $1.1 million
Earlier on Thursday, an X Spaces titled “Resurrection” featured 4NBT community members still holding out hope. The session lasted over nine hours, although it reportedly had been quiet for the last three of those.
