Hayden Davis’s Libra Wallets Generated $12 Million from Kanye West’s Meme Coin

Hayden Davis, who is linked to the Libra meme coin, purchased the YZY token created by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shortly after its introduction, according to on-chain data from Bubblemaps.

The transaction occurred just one day following the release of Davis’ funds tied to the controversial Libra project—promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei—after being unfrozen by a federal judge in Manhattan.

The wallets identified by Bubblemaps purchased YZY within one minute following the token’s official announcement, attaining $12 million from a $2.8 million investment. The company indicated that several wallets were financed by centralized exchanges the day prior to the token’s announcement, resulting in multiple addresses ready to acquire YZY quickly.

The token created by Ye had been active for two days before it was revealed as the official token for the controversial artist. According to its official website, the team issued 25 tokens before randomly selecting one to be the legitimate token, as a measure against sniping.

Sniping refers to the swift acquisition of a token within a specific timeframe, often immediately after it is launched or announced. It is important to note that being a sniper of a token does not necessarily imply having insider knowledge; it may simply be a matter of luck.

The wallets linked to Davis acquired YZY as quickly as one minute after the announcement—not at the initial launch.

“It’s hard to determine Hayden Davis’ objectives with YZY,” Deebs, the pseudonymous detective from Bubblemaps involved in this case, stated to Decrypt. “At this stage, we cannot ascertain whether he had insider information, was engaged with the team, or just sniped the launch for profit.”

Davis has a record of sniping high-profile tokens, having previously admitted to sniping the Libra token—which he contributed to creating. He claimed this was to assist in preventing a price collapse; however, Libra famously plummeted 99% on its first day. Bubblemaps also reported that Davis sniped Melania Trump’s token launch, which he acknowledged assisting in launching.

In a discussion with YouTube investigator Coffeezilla, Davis defended the act of sniping tokens related to projects he was helping launch, although he denied actually engaging in any sniping himself.

Bubblemaps followed Davis’ activity across 44 wallets that the firm suspects he controls, tracing from the team wallet for Melania Trump’s token to the Libra sniper wallet and then to 14 YZY sniper wallets. These wallets then invested $2.8 million into the YZY token shortly after its introduction and have since yielded $12 million in profit.

Kelsier Ventures, the venture capital firm led by Davis, did not respond promptly to Decrypt’s request for a statement.

The YZY token’s launch occurred just one day after Davis—along with Ben Chow, the founder of decentralized exchange Meteora—had $57.6 million in USDC released by a Manhattan federal judge. The capital was initially frozen due to its connections to the heavily scrutinized LIBRA launch but was freed when the judge declared that Davis and Chow were no longer seen as “evasive actors.”

Bubblemaps highlighted that the sequence of the YZY launch following the unfreezing of the LIBRA funds raised their suspicions about possible wrongdoing. Nonetheless, the unfrozen funds remain intact in the wallets, which currently hold $13.06 million and $44.59 million, respectively.

Davis and Chow are still involved in a legal battle, with plaintiffs pursuing $100 million in damages after the Libra launch. However, the judge expressed skepticism last week about the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success.