Kanye West quashes memecoin launch rumors, says coins 'prey on the fans'

Ye, the rapper and designer formerly known as Kanye West, said on X he has no plans to drop a memecoin after initially teasing the idea on Friday. 

"IM NOT DOING A COIN," Ye wrote on X Saturday, as part of a series of erratic social media posts the controversial star has published since Thursday night. "I ONLY DO THINGS I AM PASSIONATE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT...COINS PREY ON THE FANS WITH HYPE."

Ye's explicit and often offensive recent posts occasionally referenced crypto; the rapper said he was offered $2 million to launch a memecoin and posted publicly that he was looking to get in touch with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, The Block previously reported . 

"I also turned down a fake coin tweet," Ye wrote in another post. 

A Polymarket prediction market launched Thursday to speculate on the possibility of Ye launching a coin in February at one point gave the prospect a 40% chance before crashing to 13% following Ye's tweet. 

Ye's recent posts have been the subject of major controversy given their often offensive and shocking content. The star has praised Nazi imagery , attacked Jewish people , and published a variety of other obscene statements . Ye lost his longtime partnership with Adidas and was dropped by the Creative Artists Agency in 2022 over similar statements.