A blockchain investigation by the pseudonymous analyst Dethective connected a wallet that purchased the Kanye West-themed token YZY to another group of wallets associated with the LIBRA token, indicating that the same operator made tens of millions of dollars through insider information.
In a series of X posts on Thursday, Dethective disclosed that a YZY sniper wallet acquired $250,000 worth of tokens at a mere $0.20, significantly lower than the price most traders paid. Within moments, the wallet captured over $1 million in profit, which was subsequently transferred to a treasury wallet.
This treasury wallet also received substantial amounts from wallets connected to LIBRA’s launch six months prior. Two “Libra sniper” wallets collectively extracted $21 million. In total, nearly $23 million was drawn from the YZY and LIBRA launches, with funds later routed to Kamino or Binance.
“We can confirm this is someone with insider knowledge,” Dethective stated. “The evidence lies in the fact that he did not snipe any coin apart from $YZY and $LIBRA, and he was ready with significant volume,” they continued.
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Nansen, Cyvers validate connection
Onchain analytics platform Nansen and blockchain security firm Cyvers also verified the link between the YZY sniper wallet and the wallets tied to the LIBRA extraction network.
“The YZY launch sniper wallet overlaps with the LIBRA extraction flow wallets,” Cyvers told Cointelegraph. “This indicates the same actor (or a closely coordinated group) being involved in both occurrences,” they added.
Meanwhile, Nansen mentioned they cannot confirm a connection to Hayden Davis, the controversial figure linked to the LIBRA token. “It’s also always debatable what constitutes insider information and whether it truly amounts to insider trading.”
Nansen further noted that infamous sniper Naseem, who profited millions from the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin, was also among the first to purchase YZY using a wallet previously funded by TRUMP gains. While Naseem asserted that the advantage stemmed from early detection of the liquidity pool, questions linger about whether this represents astute trading or part of a larger trend during this ongoing “crime season.”
Related: Judge unfreezes $57M in stablecoins linked to Libra token investigation
Kanye West’s YZY token skyrockets to $3 billion
On Thursday, Ye launched his YZY token on Solana, which soared to a $3 billion market cap within 40 minutes before dropping to around $1.05 billion.
At the time of this writing, YZY was trading at approximately $1, down over 60% in the past day. The token reached an all-time high of $3.16 roughly 11 hours earlier, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
West introduced the token on X, describing it as part of “A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN,” with YZY meant to facilitate transactions within his envisioned “YZY MONEY” system.
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