Kanye West's crypto denial sends altcoins tumbling

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Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, took to social media to clarify that he will not be launching a cryptocurrency, stating that such ventures "prey on fans with hype." His statement led to a sharp decrease in the speculative value of altcoins linked to the rumors of his involvement.

According to CoinDesk, traders on Polymarket, a popular prediction market, saw the odds of a Kanye-backed token being launched this month fall dramatically following his post. Initially, there was a 40% chance predicted for the launch of Kanye's token. However, after his announcement, those odds dropped to approximately 10%.

The impact of Ye's declaration was felt across various memecoins named "Ye," which had emerged amid speculation that the rapper would introduce his own cryptocurrency. In the wake of his denial, these tokens have experienced significant losses. One such token saw its value plummet by over 65%, while another dropped by 89%, as per data from Dexscreener.

Ye's social media post, which came after he reportedly declined a $2 million offer to launch his own token, emphasized that he only engages in projects he is "passionate and knowledgeable about" and that he is "too rich to do anything else." Following his statements on cryptocurrency, Ye also made a cryptic reference to wanting to contact Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN ) CEO Brian Armstrong.

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