19-05-2025
Crypto Founder Found Alive After Faking Death To Pump A Memecoin
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Zerebro developer Jeffy Yu has been found alive and well.
On-chain transactions had first cast doubt on Yu's suicide.
The stunt pulled by Yu is not new in the world of memecoins.
'A Martyr of Imagination and Creativity,' those were the words used to describe Jeffy Yu, the 22-year-old creator of a little-known, supposedly AI-related cryptocurrency project called Zerebro, in an obituary that made the rounds on X and sparked condolence messages last week.
Before this, many users had reported seeing a video of Yu taking his own life on a livestream, seemingly in response to online harassment. A supposedly automated message announcing a final act in the form of a legacy memecoin, LLJEFFY, followed.
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There is just one problem: Yu appears to be alive and well in San Francisco.
Yu was found at his parents' home in the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood by a reporter from The San Francisco Standard, the outlet reported on May 8.
'I've been doxxed. I've been harassed. If you can find me, other people can find me,' a visibly shocked and agitated Yu reportedly told the Standard. 'Now I have to move my parents out of here this week.'
Doubts about Yu's death first arose when on-chain sleuths flagged transactions tied to him from Zerebro and his 'legacoin.'
'Despite rumors of suicide, addresses linked to Jeffy Yu sold over $100k of ZEREBRO and traded LLJEFFY days after his alleged passing,' prominent crypto data provider Bubblemaps wrote on May 6.
On May 7, Bubblemaps reported that another $1.4 million in ZEREBRO tokens had been sold.
Around the same time, disgraced DeFi founder Daniele Sestagalli also claimed that Yu had faked his suicide. He cited a supposed letter from Yu to an early Zerebro investor.
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The letter describes Yu's actions as his 'only viable exit from persistent harassment, blackmail, and threats.'
'Crypto just witnessed its first pseudocide exit strategy,' Sestagalli wrote in the thread containing the letter. 'Meanwhile, real developers in this space are getting doxxed, harassed, targeted they keep showing up. They keep building. They don't fake death to dodge red candles.'
Yu refused to comment on the reports of his suicide and how he may have financially benefited from it, according to The Standard.
'You can see the PTSD in my eyes, right?' he reportedly said before urging the reporter to leave.
The stunt pulled by Yu is not new in the world of memecoins. The space took a dark turn in May 2024 when Solana memecoin generator launched a streaming feature to allow creators to promote their tokens. One developer set himself on fire, one sexually exploited his mother and another faked an overdose. The platform was forced to deprecate the feature after one particular creator faked his hanging, or at least it did till April.
'Pump fun livestreaming has been rolled out to 5% of users with industry standard moderation systems in place and transparent guidelines,' co-founder Alon Cohen wrote on April 4.
Bubblemaps claimed that Yu's faked suicide occurred on livestream, but the firm has vehemently denied it in a statement to The San Francisco Standard.
Benzinga reached out to Yu for comment but has yet to receive feedback. He has since deleted his personal X account and that of Zerebro.
Despite recent events, ZEREBRO is trading 1.4% higher on the day at the time of writing. Yu's legacy coin, however, has not fared so favorably. As of last look, LLJEFFY's market capitalization sits at $4 million, a 90% decline from a peak of over $100 million.
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