Hayden Davis is suspected of targeting Kanye West's YZY Token, making a profit of 12 million dollars.

The blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps released a significant report on August 25, accusing controversial figure in the crypto space, Hayden Davis (also known as Kelsier), of coordinating 14 related wallets to conduct "sniping" operations during the launch of Kanye West's YZY token, profiting as much as $12 million in a short period of time. This incident has once again raised market concerns about potential manipulation in celebrity token issuance.

Investigation Details: From Unfreezing Funds to 'Lightning Strike'

(Source: Bubblemaps)

Source of funds: On August 20, a U.S. judge unblocked $57.6 million USDC related to the LIBRA token scandal, allowing Davis and former Meteora DEX CEO Ben Chow to use the funds that had been frozen since May due to a class action lawsuit.

Timeline:

On the day before YZY went live, Bubblemaps tracked multiple addresses funded by centralized exchanges.

These addresses are linked back to Davis through fund transfers, cross-chain protocols, and shared deposit.

UTC 1:54 AM (1 minute after the announcement was released), the associated Wallet began to buy YZY in large quantities.

Comparison of models: Bubblemaps points out that this is similar to Davis's past behavior patterns in participating in high-profile token purchases like MELANIA and LIBRA.

Historical Controversy: The Shadow of the LIBRA Token Incident

Davis faced fraud and insider trading charges due to the collapse of the LIBRA Token. Although he denied all allegations, the incident still tarnished his reputation in the cryptocurrency community.

Bubblemaps indicates that it cannot confirm whether Davis possesses insider information or has direct contact with the YZY team, but his coordinated buying and profit-taking behavior patterns have been fully documented.

YZY Token market performance: from skyrocketing to plummeting

Initial launch: Trading enthusiasm drives market capitalization close to 3 billion USD, fully diluted valuation skyrockets to several billion USD.

Plunge process: Within a few hours, the price fell over 90%, and the market value shrank to 137 million USD.

Supply Concentration: Independent analyst Conor Grogan pointed out that 94% of the initial supply is controlled by insiders, with one multi-signature Wallet having once held 87% of the Tokens.

Transaction Cost Trap:

Basic fee 1%

Dynamic fee up to 2.68%

Position size step additional slippage 4–5%

The transaction cost for round trips is close to 10%.

Current price: down 82% from the historical high of 3.1633 USD, currently quoted at 0.5670 USD

Event Insight: The High-Risk Nature of Celebrity Tokens

This incident highlights the three major risks of celebrity tokens:

Insider control of supply: High concentration means prices are easily manipulated.

High transaction costs: Fees and slippage increase investor losses.

Short-term speculative atmosphere is strong: lacking long-term value support, it is easy to become a breeding ground for "pump and dump".

Conclusion

Hayden Davis is accused of profiting $12 million by targeting YZY tokens through associated wallets, bringing the spotlight back to the transparency and regulatory issues surrounding celebrity tokens. With advancements in blockchain forensic technology, such events will be harder to cover up, but for ordinary investors, exercising caution with high-profile celebrity tokens may be the best risk management strategy.