- Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu is suspected of faking his suicide to exit with millions in crypto.
- Blockchain data shows posthumous wallet activity, including large token sales and transfers.
- ZEREBRO and OPAIUM tokens plunged over 20% amid rising doubts and controversy.
New evidence of off-chain transactions and a circulated Zerebro letter to employees, attributed to co-founder Jeffy Yu, indicates that the Zerebro co-founder may have faked the reported suicide as a way to exit with extensive funds that are not yet known.
Yu’s Livestream Death Triggers Widespread Crypto Speculation
Yu’s reported suicide during a livestream on a memecoin launch platform called Pump.fun sent speculation swirling on May 4. A crypto X video showed someone who looks like Yu smoking a cigarette and shooting himself in the neck. While a few users questioned the video’s authenticity, many more took it for real, primarily when Yu’s obituary was published on Legacy’s online memorial site two days later.
But as inconsistencies have grown, the original reports have been seriously doubted. Since then, the Legacy obituary has been removed, and on-chain activity does not jive with the story of Yu’s death. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reports that there have been several posthumous transactions, supposedly performed by a wallet associated with Yu.
That wallet then sold 35.55 million ZEREBRO tokens in exchange for 8,572 SOL, about $1.27 million, and transferred 7,100 SOL (around $1.06 million) to the developer wallet of a token launched the same day Yu (allegedly) died.
Wallet 5Ko12 Sells $170K ZEREBRO Tokens
Bubblemaps performed blockchain analysis and discovered further activity by the LLJEFFY deployer address and other associated wallets. Following Yu’s alleged death, the firm observed active trading and token burns, with one popular wallet, identified as 5Ko12, selling more than $170,000 worth of ZEREBRO in multiple transactions.
Speculation was also furthered by a letter, attributed to Yu and circulating on X and other platforms, that mentions both blockchain data and that LUNA must be burned to match stake numbers held by the decentralised community. The unverified letter says to be a Yu message to investors that it was his staged attempt to leave cryptocurrency amid increased personal threats. According to Yu, in a letter he wrote:
“I created a video in which I depict myself shooting myself. My decision to create and indirectly disseminate this video was deliberate. From my perspective, this was my only viable exit from persistent harassment, blackmail, and threats.”
He further stated that a public departure would have triggered significant financial fallout and personal risk:
“Had I stepped away openly, I would have tanked the price of ZEREBRO and OPAIUM projects when my departure became imminent. This would have resulted in even more intense targeting, which was previously evidenced when our token price >90% in January, causing a massive increase in resentment towards me as a developer.”
In the meantime, market reactions to the situation as it unfolds have been swift. Over the last 24 hours, ZEREBRO and OPAIUM tokens have shed more than 20%. Conversely, LLJEFFY, an entirely new token representing Yu, has risen over 100% in the same period, 24% more in the past hour alone.
