Hayden Davis Allegedly Profits $12M From YZY Token Sniping
By: Eliza Bennet
In a startling revelation, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps has accused Hayden Davis of orchestrating a lucrative sniping operation on Kanye West’s YZY token. This alleged operation reportedly yielded $12 million in profits, facilitated through 14 interlinked wallets. The findings, published on August 25, highlight Davis's potentially controversial involvement in yet another high-profile cryptocurrency maneuver.
The scrutiny began with a timing analysis by Bubblemaps, revealing that Davis, also known by the alias Kelsier, gained access to a significant sum of $57 million of previously frozen funds just before YZY’s market debut. This unfrozen capital dates back to a legal controversy involving the LIBRA token collapse, where Davis had already been under scrutiny for alleged financial misdeeds. A U.S. court had previously unfrozen these assets from USDC stablecoins, initially restricted in connection to the LIBRA scandal, thus reopening old discussions about financial ethics and regulations.
According to Bubblemaps, the day before YZY's token launch, a cluster of activities related to Davis was recorded, including funding transactions, cross-chain transfers, and shared deposits. These activities collectively prepared Davis's wallets to execute a sniping operation — purchasing YZY tokens within a minute of their announcement, leveraging a pattern similar to previous incidents involving other notable tokens like MELANIA and LIBRA.
YZY's launch itself was highly contentious, with initial trading catapulting its market capitalization to nearly $3 billion, followed by a rapid and precipitous decline of more than 90% in valuation. Independent analyses suggest a significant portion of the token's supply was controlled by insiders, with estimates indicating that insider holdings accounted for around 94% of the initial token distribution.
The ongoing investigation seeks to uncover the full extent of Davis’s connections to the YZY token team and whether any insider information was used to maneuver his alleged sniping operations. The drama unfolds against the backdrop of increasing scrutiny from blockchain forensics firms, vigilant against potential manipulations in celebrity-endorsed token launches.
For more balanced insights into celebrity-related cryptocurrency token launches, interested readers can explore documentation on firm practices from companies like Chainalysis or educational resources from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on securing international financial systems.
