Rapper Kanye West Says No to $2 Million Crypto Scam Deal

Highlights:

• Ye exposed a $2 million offer to promote a fraudulent crypto scheme on X.
• The scheme followed past celebrity hacks, raising concerns about social media scams.
• Crypto analysts debate Ye’s motives, with some calling him a “master marketer.”

On Friday, Kanye West, now known as Ye, a U.S. rapper and music producer, shared a screenshot of an unknown contact offering him $2 million to promote a fake “ye currency.” The plan involved Ye promoting a fraudulent crypto scheme to his 32.6 million followers, then later claiming his account was hacked. By then, many victims could have already suffered significant financial losses.

The offer promised Ye $750,000 upfront to share the crypto promotion. He had to keep the post live for eight hours. After that, he could claim his account was hacked. A second payment of $1.25 million was promised 16 hours later. “The company asking you to do this will be scamming the public out of tens of millions of dollars,” the message read.

I was proposed 2 million dollars to scam my community Those left of it I said no and stopped working with their person who proposed it pic.twitter.com/WKHdP9FkOq

— ye (@kanyewest) February 7, 2025

An hour later, Ye posted a screenshot of a private chat where he asked an unknown X user for a direct crypto contact. The user suggested Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and offered to help obtain his phone number.

Concerning crypto pic.twitter.com/ytfDfjiqXS

— ye (@kanyewest) February 7, 2025

Ye returned to X on Friday morning with a series of posts, marking his first activity on the platform in a while. Around three of them focused on crypto, including one where he asked, “WHEN PEOPLE MAKE ALL THAT MONEY WITH A COIN IS THAT CASH OR CONCEPT.” However, most of his other posts were filled with antisemitic remarks, including praise for Hitler and the statement, “I’m a Nazi.” 

Celebrity Crypto Scams Resurface as Ye Sparks Debate

Ye rejected the $2 million offer, stating he wouldn’t “scam my community.” His post, however, sparked doubts about past X account hacks involving celebrities, which followed a similar pattern. Hackers took over Canadian hip-hop mogul Drake’s account in December to promote a Solana memecoin named $ANITA. The scam hit $5 million in trading volume before authorities shut it down.

Are you telling me all the big accounts getting “hacked” and posting a memecoin over the last several months are fake?????

— notEezzy (delulu) (@notEezzy) February 7, 2025

Amid the discussion, crypto commentator Armeanio said Ye should use crypto to sell merchandise instead of launching a memecoin, warning, “Celebrity tokens generally bring a reckoning on retail.” Meanwhile, Crypto Vic believes Ye isn’t launching a token but is simply generating hype for his album, calling him a “master marketer.”

KANYE WILL NOT DROP A TOKEN

(theory)

– he is a master marketer
– he is dropping an album
– before every album he gets controversial
– in order to farm attention he needs the culture
– right now memecoins run the culture
– he does not need the money
– he has seen every other…

— Crypto Vic (@VicLaranja) February 8, 2025

West’s Troubled Crypto History

West has had a rocky relationship with cryptocurrency. In 2014, he took legal action to shut down “Coinye,” a meme coin that used his name and image without permission. Despite his past opposition, he now appears to be engaging with the crypto space on his own terms.

Under the Biden administration, the SEC’s Enforcement Division has pursued several celebrities for undisclosed crypto promotions. Among them was Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, who faced penalties for promoting “Ethereum MAX” without proper disclosures.