Ye has sent a series of tweets this week about blockchain and his plans to launch his own token. His actual plans remain vague, he has suggested the token could be called YZY, an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, with Ye holding 70% of the tokens, raising concerns about centralization.
Other tweets suggested he might go the controversial “Swasticoin”, an idea that hopefully he will abandon. Ye has had private correspondence with CZ, founder of Binance, and Justin Sun, founder of Tron, suggesting the plans may be changing quickly. In his most recent tweet today, Ye denied knowing Barkmeta, a twitter account that many suspected was running Ye’s coin project. This now appear not to be the case.
This is not real, I don’t know this person, said Ye, Source: X
Coinye: The 2014 Meme Coin
Eleven long years before the current meme coin shenanigans, there was a coin called Coinye. Launched in early 2014, Coinye was a Litecoin fork inspired by a South Park episode (“Fishsticks”) parodying Kanye West as a “gay fish.”
It faced cease and desist letters from West’s lawyers, but the original developers disappeared, and the coin continued, showcasing decentralized resilience. Coinye uses the Scrypt algorithm, has a max supply of 133,333,333,333 coins, and remains operational with community support, including mining pools and wallets.
This Fishsticks episode, aired on April 8, 2009, featured a viral joke about fish sticks that became associated with Kanye West, portraying him as not understanding the humor but eager to claim credit.
The coin, named Coinye, was a playful take on West’s name, reflecting the meme culture prevalent in early cryptocurrency circles.
Coinye’s technical foundation mirrored Litecoin, utilizing the Scrypt algorithm for mining, with a block time of approximately 90 seconds and a maximum supply of 133,333,333,333 coins. Its creation was driven by anonymous developers, aiming to capitalize on the parody’s popularity.
However, legal troubles soon arose. Kanye West’s legal team issued cease and desist letters, demanding the cessation of using his name and likeness, as documented in mirrored legal notices available at Coinye Official Website.
The fascinating and highly entertaining legal letter from Kanye’s lawyers in 2014
The original developers disappeared, but the decentralized nature of the network ensured Coinye’s survival, demonstrating the resilience of such systems against centralized legal pressures.
The coin’s community adapted, establishing resources like mining pools (e.g., GayFishPool at GayFishPool) and faucets, with wallets available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, as detailed on Coinye Official Website.
Coinye’s persistence is evidenced by its continued operation, with network stats accessible at Coinye Network Stats, and block explorers like Coinye Unofficial. This longevity underscores its status as one of the first parody alt-coins, thriving despite initial legal threats.
Coinye, the Kanye Memecoin from 2014 that everyone forgot, Source: Coinye
Technical Specifications of Coinye
| Category | Details |
| Description | A cryptocurrency similar to Litecoin, forked in early 2014, based on a South Park episode (S13E05 – Fishsticks) parodying Kanye West as a “gay fish.” Initially faced legal threats from Kanye West’s lawyers, but original developers disappeared, and Coinye continued, showcasing decentralized network resilience. |
| Algorithm | Scrypt |
| Block Time | ± 90 seconds |
| Max Coins | 133,333,333,333 |
| Difficulty Retarget | Every 480 blocks (12 hours) |
| Payout Halving | Every 100,000 blocks |
| Network Stats | Coinye Network Stats |
| Official Site | No real official site; runs as a peer-to-peer network, started by anonymous developers. |
| Legal History | No lawsuit, only Cease & Desist letters (e.g., WSJ Document). Original devs may have avoided prosecution; Coinye persisted. |
| Community Resources | – Wikipedia: Coinye Wikipedia (noted as unreliable) – Reddit: r/coinyethecoin – Telegram: Coinye, Coinye Chat – BitCoinTalk: BitCoinTalk Thread – Block Explorers: Coinye Unofficial, BlockCrawler, GayFishPool, Testnet: BlockCrawler Testnet |
| Wallets | – Windows: coinye-0.6.4.0.exe, coinyecoin-qt-win32.zip – Linux: coinyecoin-qt, coinyecoind – Mac: coinyecoin-qt-macosx.zip – Source: GitHub realcoinyecoin, GitHub bityecoin – Alternatives: TipperCoinye (TipperCoinye), FreiXLite (FreiXLite) |
| Exchanges | FreiXLite (FreiXLite Market, delisted due to unstable block times) |
| Mining Pools | – GayFishPool: GayFishPool (includes daily giveaway) – WinPool: WinPool (no account needed, use Coinye address) |
| Faucets | – GayFishBot: GayFishBot (10-140 Coinye via X) – GayFishPool: GayFishPool Rewards (daily random rewards) |
| Nodes | Add to coinyecoin.conf for synchronization (based on old LiteCoin wallet): – 134.122.38.91:41338 (Toronto, CA, Aquaman:2.2.0) – 77.163.181.92:41338 (Geldrop, NL, Satoshi:0.6.4) – 89.185.100.228:41338 (Vienna, AT, Aquaman:2.2.0) – 2001:1ad0:1005:2::228:41338 (Zeewolde, NL, Aquaman:2.2.0) – 2a02:a460:944f:0:7851:94ff:fe64:5db3:43334 (Geldrop, NL, Satoshi_mn:0.6.4) More info: Litecoin.conf Info |
| Documentation | Technical info: Documentation OG Wallet |
| FAQs & History | Originated from South Park S13E05; Cease & Desist letters mirrored at WSJ Coinye PDF, [Cease and Desist to Atty Guido](https://coinye.net/mirrored/Cease and Desist to Atty Guido and Kanye West 2 – January 10 2014.pdf), Coinye PDF; Original site history: Wayback Machine |
Ye’s Meme Coin Venture: YZY and the Blockchain
Turning to the present, Ye’s foray into cryptocurrency marks a significant shift. Recent reports from February 2025, suggsted Ye plans to launch a meme coin named YZY, leveraging the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token. However subsequent X posts and interactions, including with CZ, Binance’s co-founder, suggest a change of heart. Just as Ye became notorious for constant delays to the release of his albums, the same cycle now appears to be playing out with the release of his coin. Ye seems to thrive in the face of chaos, changing plans and release dates on a whim. This is a symptom of bi-polar disorder, a condition he struggles with.
Polymarket users suggest a 63% chance Kanye will launch a coin in February, Source: Polymarket
The Irony and Evolution: From Parody to Participation
The juxtaposition of Coinye and YZY presents a full circle moment. Coinye, born from a parody without Ye’s involvement, faced legal opposition but persisted through decentralization.
In contrast, YZY, or whatever it ends up being, represents Ye’s attempt to control and profit from the meme coin space, with significant centralized ownership. This shift highlights the evolution of meme coins from proof-of-work systems like Coinye to token-based models on blockchains like Ethereum, reflecting broader trends in cryptocurrency adoption.
Recent reports suggest Coinye was revived in 2024 as an Ethereum ERC-20 token on the Base network, as noted in The Big Whale Article, indicating adaptation to modern blockchain technologies. This revival, however, does not detract from the original Coinye’s operational continuity as a proof-of-work coin, showcasing the dual existence of legacy and new forms.
As meme coins continue to blend humor, satire, and financial speculation, the journey from Coinye to YZY exemplifies the dynamic nature of this ecosystem, where past parodies can inspire future ventures, blurring the lines between satire and reality.
Who’s Backing This? And Will It Even Work?
There’s no confirmation yet on whether Ye is building this alone or if he has heavyweight developers in his corner. But don’t expect any big-name VCs—Ye has made it clear he’s against the traditional tech investment model. He’s also been spotted hanging with some major figures in the Bitcoin and Ethereum space, so the tech side might be more serious than people think.
But let’s be real—celebrity crypto projects have a terrible track record. From Floyd Mayweather’s shady ICO to Logan Paul’s disastrous NFT drop, most turn into pump-and-dump schemes. The difference here? Ye isn’t just another influencer trying to cash in. He’s a cultural force with a fanbase that actually follows him into new industries (see: fashion, sneakers, politics, and gospel music).
If it succeeds, it won’t be because of its tech—it’ll be because Ye’s vision turns it into a cultural movement.
Love him or hate him, Kanye doesn’t do small ideas. If YeCoin and YeChain actually launch, it could be one of the most entertaining, chaotic, and possibly revolutionary things to happen in crypto.
But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Kanye’s ideas change as fast as his album release dates. So by the time you finish reading this, he might already be onto the next thing.
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