Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has categorically dismissed rumors linking hip-hop artist Kanye West, now known as Ye, to a proposed token launch on the Cardano blockchain. In a brief video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Hoskinson poured cold water on speculation that Ye might roll out a cryptocurrency project under Cardano’s umbrella.
No Kanye West Project on Cardano
“Hey guys, I wanted to make a quick video to say Kanye West is not going to launch something on Cardano,” Hoskinson said. “I know some people are talking about it, but it doesn’t even look like he’s actually doing anything of value. Looks like he sold his Twitter account for 17 million dollars to the Barkmeta guys for them to do a scam. Even if he didn’t, I don’t think we want that. It’s too much drama.”
He added: “Cardano is a serious project. We’re not a launching place for these types of things. So thank you all for the drama for the weekend, but I don’t think there’s any Kanye at all.”
Notably, the controversy began on Friday, when three sources close to Ye’s circle claimed that the artist was planning to release a token named YZY—a nod to his Yeezy fashion brand. According to these sources, 70% of the token’s allocation would be reserved for Ye, with 10% going toward liquidity provisioning and 20% set aside for investors.
Rumors suggested that YZY would serve as a means for Ye to bypass mainstream payment and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, which cut ties with him in response to recent antisemitic statements and other hate-filled rhetoric. Ye’s moves in the crypto space are seen by some as a potential lifeline after he was dropped by key partners, including Adidas and Balenciaga, for praising Adolf Hitler and making repeated antisemitic remarks in live interviews and on social media.
In parallel with talk of Ye’s crypto ambitions, whispers circulated that the artist sold his personal X account (@kanyewest) for $17 million to a memecoin group known as @barkmeta, presumably to facilitate a large-scale scam. Crypto influencer, Loki The Bird (@lokithebird), fueled the speculation by writing: “Kanye West sold his account to the BarkMeta Doginals crew for $17M—they’re gearing up to scam the entire space. Share for awareness and save Web3.”
There was also an image circulating, showing two phones allegedly logged into @barkmeta and @kanyewest simultaneously. However, Ye swiftly denied any involvement with these individuals or any sale of his account, stating, “This is fake, I don’t know this person.”
Hoskinson’s dismissal of any official connection to Ye underscores Cardano’s broader commitment to maintaining its position as a “serious project.” While the open-source nature of blockchain technology means that permission is not strictly required to build on Cardano, Hoskinson clarified: “He wants money and help to launch it. No one serious in Cardano is going to do it,”effectively closing the door on any partnership.
At press time, ADA traded at $0.74.
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