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Solana

Solana Seeker Review: A More Measured Crypto Phone

by admin August 24, 2025

Solana’s first smartphone, 2023’s Saga, was a big swing for Solana Labs—and initially a miss with consumers, at least until a massive price cut and crypto airdrop incentives drove sudden, sellout demand months after release.

Now, the 2.0 model has arrived. The new Seeker serves as an attempt by Solana to deliver a more palatable crypto phone. It costs half the price of the Saga at launch, currently selling for $500, with early pre-orders getting it $50 cheaper. By some measures, it’s expectedly less robust and ultra-premium than the pricey Saga.

Solana Seeker. Photo: Decrypt

But the Seeker hits a much better sweet spot at this price, with mostly good-to-great hardware plus the added crypto features that help set it apart from your average Android phone. It’s still decidedly niche in appeal, and the state of the Solana dapp store doesn’t feel that different from back in 2023, with little to keep my attention beyond trading apps.

But Solana users don’t have to take as much of a gamble buying the Seeker, and if the mobile dapp ecosystem improves and/or there are serious airdrops ahead, maybe it’ll prove to be just as worthwhile as the Saga was to early adopters. But that’s still a maybe, for now.

A solid Android

The moment it hit your hand, it was clear that the Solana Saga was a beast—heavy and expensive-feeling, thanks to the ceramic backing, with distinctive visual elements.

At half the price, the Seeker has taken a different route. A plastic frame and glass backing make it more mid-range in feel than flagship, though it’s hardly anonymous among Androids thanks to the reflective “Seed Vault” cutout on the back and along the side (which houses the fingerprint sensor), plus a pair of Solana logos.

Solana Seeker and Saga. Photo: Decrypt

The 6.36-inch screen—while smaller than the 6.67-inch display of the Saga—is actually both brighter and noticeably crisper than its predecessor, with the same kind of dynamic refresh rate (up to 120Hz) that makes for smooth scrolling. That’s a big win.

The Mediatek Dimensity 7300 chip here is a step down in terms of raw horsepower, though, with Geekbench benchmark testing showing a 33% dip in multi-core and 44% drop in single-core performance compared to the Saga’s more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 chip.

What does that mean in practice? Not much, really: In everyday use, the Seeker feels snappy and responsive when navigating around Android, browsing the web, and using social media and video apps. It’s not built to handle the glossiest games at top settings, but in terms of day-to-day needs, the Seeker didn’t disappoint. And the beefy 4,500mAh battery should get you to bedtime without a top-up, with wireless charging here as a welcome convenience.

Camera quality was the one notably underwhelming element of the Seeker during my testing, which is typical at this price point. During my week of carrying the Seeker around, the three rear cameras—a 108-megapixel main sensor plus 50MP telephoto (zoom) and 13MP ultra-wide—gave me broadly similar outcomes: pretty good shots when there was a lot of natural light, and routinely rough and blurry snaps in low light.

The Solana Saga was largely conceived during a bull run and ultimately launched after SOL cratered in value. Meanwhile, the Seeker was created following that collapse, though ultimately launched after the Solana ecosystem’s monumental comeback.

It makes sense that the Seeker is a more measured device at a much more reasonable starting price—and camera qualms aside, it did everything I needed it to as a smartphone.

Room to grow

Like the Saga, the Solana Seeker is designed from the ground up to be a secure crypto wallet thanks to the Seed Vault, which stores your private keys and guards transactions behind your fingerprint approval.

Solana Seeker. Photo: Decrypt

The native, Solflare-powered Seed Vault Wallet is easy to use, with a double-tap of the side button and fingerprint scan used to authorize moves. Phantom and other wallets can also be added via the Solana Dapp Store. And the Seeker ID, which gives you a plain-English .skr wallet name (or “digital passport”) for sending and receiving crypto, is a nice user-friendly touch that could become more useful in time.

The Seeker is primed to power a potential world of decentralized, on-chain apps… and yet, the Dapp Store selection gives me a similar feeling that it did with the Saga back in 2023. Beyond trading apps like Jupiter, Drift, Vector, and Marinade.finance, there were few Solana-powered apps or games that really grabbed my attention.

Solana Seeker. Photo: Decrypt

If you’re actively trading in the Solana trenches, then the Seeker can keep you in the game wherever you are. But if you’re betting on Solana Mobile’s vision of disrupting the Google/Apple duopoly and upending centralized apps and services with comparable crypto-powered alternatives, then that potential future still feels far off right now. Most of the apps I needed to communicate and stay connected and entertained still came from Google’s Android Play Store.

But there’s promise, and the Saga showed us that being an early adopter to the Solana Mobile ecosystem could pay off big time in terms of exclusive token airdrops and access.

Whether the Seeker can recreate that magic—or crucially, expand upon it—remains to be seen.

Just 20,000 Saga phones were ultimately made, while 150,000 Seekers have already shipped. A larger group of users means better adoption for developers, but it also means dilution and less exclusivity for airdrops and rewards. And we’ve yet to see how the upcoming SKR token, which will be distributed to both users and developers, will help boost growth.

Buying a Seeker is a bet that the Solana Mobile ecosystem will keep growing in the coming years, and that the access and incentives for owners will justify the buy-in price. That’s a gamble for now, but it’s a much more affordable one than the Saga. And if you’re already actively in the Solana world, then picking up a Seeker feels like a no-brainer.

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August 24, 2025 0 comments

Solana price path to $200 stalls as transactions and addresses jump

GameFi Guides

Coinbase hacker uses stolen crypto to buy 38,126 Solana

by admin August 24, 2025

The hacker behind a recent Coinbase breach has surfaced with a 38,126 Solana purchase worth approximately $7.9 million, made with funds stolen from the exchange’s customers.

According to blockchain analyst Ember CN, the hacker converted 7.957 million DAI to USDC, then bridged these funds to the Solana network to purchase Solana (SOL) at an average price of $208.7.

The purchase comes as Solana trades up over 17% in the last 30 days, though the token remains down 29% from its all-time high of $293 reached in January.

This marks the third significant asset allocation move by the hacker behind the Coinbase breach in May.

Hacker’s strategic trading pattern spans over months

The Coinbase hacker has shown methodical trading behavior since gaining access to customer funds on at least two occasions:

In May, the hacker sold 26,347 Ethereum (ETH) for 68.18 million DAI. The sale was done at a price of $2,588.
Two months later in July, the hacker repurchased 5,513 ETH with 14.865 million DAI at $2,696.

X post by analyst EmberCN

The $208.7 purchase price aligns with analyst predictions that SOL could rally toward $360.

Technical analysis from trader Ucan indicates that Solana is currently moving within a rising channel, following the formation of a rounded bottom pattern.

Key resistance levels include $215 for initial resistance, $227 for breakout confirmation, and $242 as a strong upside target. The channel top sits at $251.

The hacker’s timing coincides with bullish sentiment around Solana, with prominent trader Ali recently asking to hold SOL until $360.

$SOL | Technical Analyses

Solana is moving within a rising channel after forming a rounded bottom. 👀

Key levels to watch 👇

• $215 – first resistance
• $227 – breakout confirmation
• $242 – strong upside target
• $251 – channel top

As long as $190 support holds, the… pic.twitter.com/mmdVSeH2Yl

— 𝖀𝖈𝖆𝖓 (@Ucan_Coin) August 23, 2025

Coinbase hack impact continues to unfold

The May Coinbase breach affected nearly 70,000 users through a coordinated social-engineering attack. Cybercriminals bribed overseas customer-support contractors to extract user records between December 2024 and May 2025.

The attack compromised personal data, including full names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, masked bank account numbers, and government-issued ID scans.

Coinbase disclosed the incident publicly after receiving a $20 million ransom demand, which the company refused to pay.

CEO Brian Armstrong pledged to reimburse affected customers. Additionally, he offered a $20 million reward for information leading to an arrest. The breach triggered an estimated remediation cost of up to $400 million for the exchange.

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August 24, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Watch Out For XRP and Solana as Price Action Flashes Bullish Signals, Analyst Says

by admin August 23, 2025

XRP and Solana are showing signs of strength again, with traders pointing to both institutional flows and technical setups as catalysts for a fresh rally.

XRP is back above $3 after slipping under its 50-day moving average earlier this week, when whale selling dragged the token as low as $2.72. The rebound has traders watching for a break of $3.10 that could validate a move toward $4.

“With institutional adoption, ODL usage, and ETF optimism, the potential for $3 to $5 price levels remain realistic by year-end,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, in a Saturday note to CoinDesk.

The bullish view follows months of regulatory wins for XRP and growing optimism that ETF products could unlock new demand. While whales booking profits created near-term pressure, some analysts argue that structural flows continue to point higher if resistance levels give way.

Solana’s rally looks equally notable. SOL jumped 10% in 24 hours to trade near $206, with momentum clustering in the $175–$180 range. ETF-driven staking demand and growing DeFi activity have pushed both open interest and total value locked higher, strengthening the case for continuation.

If the token holds above $180 and clears $205–$210 with conviction, traders see upside toward $250–$260 in the near term. Some models stretch the target as high as $300 if momentum persists and ETF clarity arrives.

If both sustain technical resilience, they could define the next leg of altcoin performance into the back half of 2025, Lee concluded.

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Crypto Booms as Fed Goes Dovish: Here’s What It Means for Ethereum, Solana and Dogecoin

by admin August 23, 2025

In brief

Fed Chair Jerome Powell went much more dovish than expected at Jackson Hole, sending stocks up 2% and crypto markets higher.
Altcoins are outpacing Bitcoin, with Dogecoin and Solana showing increasingly bullish signs.
But today, all eyes are on Ethereum, which is inching closer to breaking its 2021 all-time high.

Crypto markets have come alive following dovish remarks today from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed chairman opened the door to interest rate cuts during a speech at Jackson Hole, which both traditional and crypto markets had been eagerly awaiting—though not necessarily expecting.

Crypto climbed back above the $4 trillion mark and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped as much as 900 points, up to 2% on the day, after Powell suggested interest rate cuts could be on the way. The synchronized risk-on rally across both traditional and digital assets happens after weeks of consolidation, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.68% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 2.1%.

Powell’s keynote at the annual symposium struck a more dovish tone than markets anticipated. “Downside risks to employment are rising,” Powell said. “With policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”

The comments effectively confirmed market expectations for a September rate cut—the first during President Donald Trump’s second term—sending risk assets soaring. Why? Lower interest rates means cheaper money, and that normally translates into more dollars being relocated from safer, yield-earnings investments into riskier bets, such as stocks and crypto.

Meanwhile, oil prices climbed 4% this week to $76.45 as Middle East tensions escalate. Crypto markets, though, appear unfazed by the geopolitical uncertainty.

Bitcoin spiked 3.5% today to its current price above $116,000. But, as is often the case, when Bitcoin jumps, lower liquidity altcoins get sent much higher.

Ethereum is currently up more than 12% on the day, teasing traders with a potential break above its all-time high price of $4,878—a record that’s held since November 2021. But it’s not just ETH either: Dogecoin and Solana, two of the biggest altcoins in the market, are also experiencing impressive gains.

Here’s what the charts have to say about it:

Dogecoin (DOGE) price: Return of the meme king

Dogecoin has rallied 9% to $0.23 over the past 24 hours, significantly outperforming Bitcoin’s modest gains. DOGE now sits comfortably in the top 10 coins by market capitalization, with a total value of more than $35 billion.

Besides the typical overreaction to the broader market movement, the surge comes amid a whale accumulation of over 680 million DOGE (worth $157 million) in August, with technical indicators suggesting more upside ahead.

Dogecoin price data. Image: Tradingview

Dogecoin is still in the symmetrical triangle keeping prices in a compression phase since July. Today’s spike could be interpreted as an expected bounce from the triangle’s support—with some room for continuation until a decisive breakout.

If the pattern holds, expect lower highs and higher lows for at least a few more days.

The coin’s Relative Strength Index, or RSI, sits at 55. RSI measures momentum on a scale from 0 to 100, where readings above 70 indicate overbought conditions and below 30 suggest oversold. At 55, DOGE has room to run before hitting levels where traders typically take profits, signaling healthy buying pressure without excessive speculation.

DOGE’s Average Directional Index, or ADX, is at 15. This confirms the behavior inside a triangle, with very low momentum in either direction. This indicator measures trend strength on a scale where readings above 25 confirm a strong trend, and below 20 suggests no clear direction. DOGE’s low ADX reading indicates the recent bearish correction is weakening—think of it as the selling pressure running out of steam—potentially setting up for a trend reversal if buyers step in with conviction.

The 50-day Exponential Moving Average (the average price over the last 50 days) provides support around $0.20—basically today’s starting price—while the 200-day EMA sits at approximately $0.18. When the current price trades above both these levels, as DOGE currently does, it typically signals a bullish market. The coin recently entered into a “golden cross” formation, which experienced traders typically interpret as decisively bullish. But the gap between the EMAs is so slow, it’d be hard for most traders to expect a flight to the moon any time soon. The more likely interpretation is something closer to “it’s not dumping anymore.”

The Squeeze Momentum Indicator shows “on” status and aligns with the other indicators, suggesting volatility is building after a period of compression. When this indicator fires, it often precedes explosive moves as the market breaks out of its trading range. Combine this with whale accumulation and ETF speculation—and the fact that the tail before the triangle is bullish—and you’ve got a setup that may please bull traders.

Key Levels:

Immediate support: $0.21 (recent bounce level)
Strong support: $0.20 (50-day EMA)
Immediate resistance: $0.24 (triangle resistance)
Strong resistance: $0.30 (major target, decisive bullish breakout)

Solana (SOL) price: The “Ethereum killer” flexes

Solana posted an impressive 8.99% gain to $196.53, with trading volume exploding to $3.8 billion—nearly double the daily average. SOL now sits just outside the top 5 coins by market cap, valued at over $105 billion.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the coin’s bullish spike also coincides with Kanye West’s YZY meme coin launching on Solana late last night. Ye’s meme briefly hit a $3 billion market cap before settling at $1.5 billion, stress-testing the network’s capacity for on-chain volume.

Solana price data. Image: Tradingview

Whether Solana bulls should be thanking Powell or Ye (it’s Powell, let’s be real), there’s no doubt sentiment on SOL is shifting. On Myriad, a prediction market developed by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, the odds of Solana hitting an all-time high price of $294.33 before the end of year spiked today by more than 10%. The odds, though, still favor the bears, but they’re narrowing: Myriad users currently give SOL a 44.4% chance of breaking its record.

The charts seem to line up with the shifting view.

Solana’s ADX is now at 27, crossing above the crucial 25 threshold that confirms trend establishment. SOL’s reading suggests the recent uptrend has legs, with momentum building rather than exhausting.

SOL’s RSI at 58 sits in what traders call the “sweet spot”—strong enough to show genuine buying interest, but well below the 70 level where profit-taking typically emerges. This positioning allows for another 20-30% upside before reaching historically overbought conditions where corrections often occur.

The 50-day EMA at $166 provided crucial support during the recent dip, with its current price now trading comfortably above that mark at $196. The 200-day EMA further below at $160 creates a safety net of support levels. This expanding gap between moving averages—with the faster 50-day pulling away from the slower 200-day—typically occurs during sustained uptrends and gives buyers multiple entry points on any pullbacks.

The coin also recently entered into a golden cross. But unlike DOGE, the EMA’s here are drifting apart. This shows that bullish momentum, while slow, is building up.

Key Levels:

Immediate support: $180 (breakout level)
Strong support: $166 (50-day EMA)
Immediate resistance: $210 (July highs)
Strong resistance: $250 (psychological target)

Ethereum (ETH) price: Altcoin king roars

Ethereum, the king of altcoins, protector of decentralized smart-contracting “world computers,” and first of its name, is today smiling atop its throne. ETH is on fire.

Even after yesterday’s losses, today the king of altcoins led crypto majors with a commanding 12.16% surge above $4,700, briefly touching $4,830, and approaching its 2021 all-time high of $4,878.

Ethereum price data. Image: Tradingview

The ADX at 41 signals extremely powerful momentum—readings above 40 indicate a power trend where corrections tend to be shallow and brief. Historical data shows ETH can sustain ADX readings above 40 for weeks during major rallies. And prices are well over any statistical support—which can be a damocles sword as it makes sharp drops just as likely as unusually bullish moves.

RSI at 65 approaches but hasn’t reached the 70 overbought threshold. In strong uptrends, RSI can remain between 50-70 for extended periods—this is called “embedded RSI.”

The Squeeze Momentum Indicator also suggests the explosive move has already been released from the recent compression phase. This often marks a trending period where momentum remains stable, so it can be a safe bet for bulls.

What are prediction markets saying? We’re so glad you asked. On Myriad, the odds of ETH hitting $5,000, well above its 2021 all-time high, have soared to 89%, rocketing up by more than 17% since yesterday. A separate market has Ethereum hitting a new all-time this year as a near-lock at 94%.

Key Levels:

Immediate support: $4,500 (psychological level)
Strong support: $3,757 (50-day EMA)
Immediate resistance: $4,866 (all-time high)
Strong resistance: $5,500 (measured move target)

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

VanEck Files to Launch ETF With Jito’s Liquid-Staked Solana Tokens

by admin August 23, 2025

In brief

VanEck filed on Friday a proposal for an exchange-traded fund tracking the price of JitoSOL.
The U.S. SEC earlier this month determined that liquid-staking tokens are not securities, clearing a path to putting them in ETF wrappers.
The filing comes as investor demand for staked crypto ETFs increases.

VanEck submitted an application to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for a JitoSOL exchange-traded fund, as investor interest in staked crypto ETFs continues to expand.

The ETF will track the price of JitoSOL, a kind of Solana liquid-staking token, or a tokenized asset that serves as a stand-in for an asset that has already been staked on a network.

Staking refers to the process of locking up cryptocurrencies on a blockchain to secure the network in exchange for rewards, usually in the form of tokens.

Today, @vaneck_us filed an S-1 for a @jito_sol ETF.

Why is this important?

A JitoSOL ETF offers the highest possible yield for investors, as 100% of the fund earns staking rewards with the lowest fees. The ETF can be created and redeemed in-kind, so redemptions can be…

— Thomas Uhm (@ThomasUhm) August 22, 2025

“With staff guidance now on record, the compliance runway for LST-based ETFs/ETPs is clear and actionable, and has resulted in the first ETF [composed] of LSTs,” the Jito Foundation said Friday in a blog post.

The JitoSOL fund marks the first proposed spot Solana ETF to receive 100% backing from a liquid-staking token, according to the Jito Foundation’s statement.

The filing comes as regulators have loosened their restrictions on the cryptocurrency, particularly when it comes to the classification of staking-based activities. In May and August, the SEC ruled that both protocol and liquid staking do not qualify as securities transactions—a determination that enables their inclusion in ETFs.

“That clarity opens a compliant path for ETF sponsors to use LSTs,” a Jito Foundation representative said in the post.

The Securities Commission also voted in July to green-light in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETFs.

This latest application from VanEck also comes just a few weeks after issuer REX-Osprey integrated staking rewards into its Solana ETF via a partnership with JitoSOL.

Solana was trading at $199 as of writing time, up nearly 10% in the past 24 hours, according to data provider CoinGecko.

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

VanEck Files to Launch Staked Solana (SOL) ETF Backed by Liquid Staking Token JitoSOL

by admin August 22, 2025

Asset manager VanEck has filed to launch a staked solana SOL$199.71 exchange-traded fund (ETF), signaling continued interest in bringing blockchain-native yield-bearing assets to traditional investment rails.

The application, submitted Friday as an S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is the first of two filings required to list the fund. If approved, the ETF would hold JitoSOL, a liquid staking token native to the Solana blockchain. JitoSOL reflects ownership of SOL tokens that have been staked and also accrues the staking rewards earned by those tokens.

Unlike traditional ETFs, this product would not just track the price of SOL but also the income generated by staking — effectively baking Solana’s yield into a publicly traded product.

The SEC has been in ongoing discussions with ETF providers, including VanEck, about whether staking components can be integrated into existing and proposed crypto investment funds.

Regulatory bottlenecks

Speaking at an industry panel in Jackson Hole earlier this week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the Commission is looking to clear regulatory bottlenecks that slow innovation.

“There’s a lot of spring cleaning that needs to be done at the SEC,” he said. “We cannot have things so abstruse that lawyers can’t give opinions to clients.”

Atkins said the agency’s future rules should be flexible and designed to evolve. He added that the SEC wants to continue its legacy of adapting to new technologies, hinting at a more open stance toward crypto asset products like liquid staking ETFs.

VanEck joins a number of asset managers looking to launch a staked solana fund, including Fidelity, Grayscale and Franklin Templeton.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

EU speeds digital euro plans with Ethereum and Solana

by admin August 22, 2025

The European Union is stepping up its plans for a digital euro, now exploring the use of public blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana to expand its reach.

Summary

The EU is fast-tracking plans for a digital euro, with officials now considering public blockchains for its launch.
U.S. stablecoin regulations and the rising global adoption of digital currencies have raised concerns about the euro’s competitiveness.
European banks have reportedly expressed resistance, warning that the digital euro could reduce demand for traditional financial services.

The EU is accelerating efforts to launch a digital euro amid growing concerns over losing ground as global competition rises. According to an Aug. 22 Financial Times report, the push is in response to increased adoption of stablecoins and new regulatory clarity in the United States after the passage of the GENIUS Act.

Officials fear that the U.S. regulation could further strengthen the dollar’s dominance in the $288 billion stablecoin market, which is already largely composed of USD-pegged tokens. This, in turn, could weaken the euro’s global influence and has prompted the EU to speed up its digital currency plans.

The European Central Bank has been exploring the launch of a digital euro for several years, which will be an electronic form of cash usable for financial transactions across the Eurozone. The push is driven by rising global demand for digital payment systems and the declining use of cash.

Central Bank executive board member Piero Cipollone said earlier in May that while cash will remain available, it “cannot do the job” alone in the digital age. He added that a central-bank-backed digital currency would ensure public money remains accessible, complement cash, and ensure that the euro remains relevant in a digital world.

EU eyes Ethereum and Solana for digital euro rollout

As part of efforts to speed up the launch, officials are now weighing the option of using public blockchains. Previous plans had focused on launching the digital euro on a private blockchain, where payments and wallets would remain under the direct supervision of the European Central Bank.

Officials are now considering Ethereum and Solana as potential options, driven by expectations that their use could enable wider circulation and support global adoption.

However, not everyone is on board with the initiative, and European banks have reportedly pushed back against the rollout of a digital euro. Earlier reports indicated that banks view the digital currency as a potential threat to their existing business models, expressing concerns that it could reduce interest in traditional financial services.

For now, the expected rollout timeline of the digital euro remains uncertain. The Central Bank had previously suggested October 2025 as a possible launch date, but recent developments indicate the project may be fast-tracked. The launch is also subject to legislative approval and the implementation of all necessary regulations.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

EU Might Launch Digital Euro on Ethereum or Solana

by admin August 22, 2025

Jolting EU into action
Global stablecoin race

According to a Friday report by the Financial Times, the European Union might launch the much-talked-about digital euro project on Ethereum or Solana instead of opting for a private blockchain.

Issuing a digital euro on a public blockchain could significantly boost its accessibility, but there are some concerns about privacy-related issues.

Jolting EU into action

The world’s biggest trading bloc has been rattled by the quick passage of the GENIUS Act, a comprehensive stablecoin legislation, in the US.

The EU is now worried that it might fall behind the US in the stablecoin race, which has prompted its officials to accelerate the development of the digital euro.

Global stablecoin race

As reported by U.Today, even China, which is known as one of the most anti-crypto jurisdictions, is now reportedly mulling greenlighting yuan-backed stablecoins in a major reversal due to concerns that dollar-backed stablecoins would further boost the hegemony of the greenback.

Japan, the fifth-largest economy, has also recently approved the very first dollar-pegged stablecoin.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Kanye West’s Solana Coin YZY Rocked By Insider Allegations

by admin August 21, 2025

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

The Solana-based memecoin YZY, promoted by Kanye West (Ye), posted one of the most volatile debuts of the year, rocketing to a multi-billion-dollar valuation within minutes before retracing as on-chain sleuths flagged insider activity and a contentious liquidity setup. In an X post on Thursday, West shared the contract address and framed “YZY MONEY” as “A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN,” helping propel the token to roughly $3 billion in market value within about 40 minutes, before sliding sharply lower later in the session.

YZY Faces Insider Trading Claims On Solana

Early trading immediately drew scrutiny. Analytics account Lookonchain alleged that “Only YZY was added to the liquidity pool with no USDC. Dev may sell YZY by adding/removing liquidity, similar to LIBRA,” a single-sided structure that can make exits opaque for retail takers and amplify slippage through add/remove liquidity operations.

Several wallets appeared to have anticipated the launch mechanics. Lookonchain identified wallet 6MNWV8 as having known the contract address ahead of time, even attempting to purchase it before the token went live. Once trading opened, that wallet spent 450,611 USDC to acquire 1.29 million YZY at roughly $0.35, later selling 1.04 million YZY for 1.39 million USDC and retaining 249,907 YZY (about $600,000) — a take the analysts calculated as “a profit of over $1.5M.”

A second cluster of transactions suggested an orchestrated rush to the front of the queue. According to Lookonchain, an insider spent 450,000 USDC across two wallets to buy 1.89 million YZY at $0.24, then sold 1.59 million YZY for 3.37 million USDC at $2.12, still holding ~303,425 YZY (~$510,000). One of the addresses paid 129 SOL (≈$24,000) in priority fees to win block space at launch.

Not every attempt to front-run succeeded. Lookonchain also documented a trader who “bought the wrong YZY and lost $710K,” then spent 761,000 USDC on the official token and recouped over $710,000 minutes later — a whipsaw emblematic of hyper-fragmented symbols during celebrity launches.

Speculation spread beyond spot markets. “Trader 0x68c0 just opened a 3x leveraged long on $YZY again,” Lookonchain wrote, noting that his previous two long attempts within the hour had already lost a combined $159.6K.

Momentum ultimately broke. “YZY has dropped below $1,” Lookonchain posted, adding that whale 6ZFnRH spent 1.55 million USDC to buy 996,453 YZY at $1.56, only to exit at $1.06 for 1.05 million USDC — a ~$500,000 loss in under two hours.

At network level, the launch became a live-fire stress test for Solana. SolanaFloor reported that the chain’s “true TPS (non-vote transactions) hit 2,300 for the first time” during the YZY debut — a new peak for real transaction throughput and a marked improvement from earlier celebrity-token frenzies.

Beyond discrete wallet anecdotes, broader supply concentration data fanned the “insider” narrative. Coinbase’s Conor Grogan pointed to on-chain snapshots suggesting at least 94% of supply sat with insiders at one point, including a single multisig with 87% before distribution — numbers that, if sustained, can magnify price impact during rebalancing or liquidity removal.

The project’s documentation promoted anti-sniping steps — notably deploying 25 contract addresses and randomly designating one as official — but those measures did not prevent early-access behavior flagged by analysts.

At press time, Solana traded at $185.

SOL price faces key resistance at the 0.786 Fib, 1-week chart | Source: SOLUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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August 21, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Kanye West Launches Token on Solana in Frenzied Debut

by admin August 21, 2025

In brief

YZY surged to a multibillion-dollar valuation within an hour of launch before tumbling.
The token is framed as part of a broader “YZY Money” payments ecosystem.
On-chain data shows 70% of supply sits in a single wallet, raising centralization concerns.

Hip-hop artist Kanye West has made his first direct move into crypto with YZY, a Solana-based token promoted late Wednesday night on his verified X account.

“A new economy, built on chain,” West’s account posted on the social media platform, describing the project. A video of West confirming “the official Yeezy token” drop was released an hour later.

West has spoken about Bitcoin before and once sued to shut down the unauthorized “Coinye” token.YZY is the first coin he has formally launched under his own name and brand. Earlier in March, West pivoted to crypto and teased the possibility of dropping a meme coin.

His announcement has triggered a buying surge that quickly pushed the coin’s market capitalization to more than $3 billion less than an hour after it went live, before drastically dropping to less than $1 billion, according to on-chain data from Birdeye.

While YZY is clocking a 375% rise over the last 24 hours, the token is down more than 34% in the past hour to $0.99, data shows.

The token was quickly listed on platforms including CoinMarketCap and Bitget, with Poloniex announcing support shortly after.

Trading volumes on Solana decentralized exchanges spiked, cementing YZY as one of the largest and most visible celebrity-linked coins to debut yet, eclipsing that of other launches such as TRUMP, MOTHER, and LIBRA.

Framed as part of a broader “YZY Money” ecosystem, its website describes the token as part of “a new financial system, built on crypto rails,” with YZY positioned as the native cryptocurrency of a broader ecosystem.

The website describes YZY as more than a meme coin and goes on to describe Ye Pay, a proposed payment processor aimed at reducing merchant fees, and the YZY Card, pitched as a global spending tool for YZY and USDC.

The project claims the token would support loyalty programs, retail use, and peer-to-peer transfers, but no timeline or technical details were provided.

While the site disclosed the Solana contract address and liquidity pool, questions remain about governance, compliance, and whether these features will be delivered.

West’s representatives under the Yeezy brand did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comments on those aspects.

Bubblemaps data shows a single wallet controls about 70% of the token’s total one-billion supply, with public allocations reported at just 20% and the remainder vested under Yeezy Investments LLC, spurring concerns over centralization risks.

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August 21, 2025 0 comments