View source for Finance:Coinye

{{short description|Now-defunct cryptocurrency named after Kanye West}}
{{infobox currency
| image_1 = File:Coinye.png
| image_title_1 = Official logo
| image_width_1 = 110
| image_2 = 
| image_title_2 = 
| image_width_2 = 
| date_of_introduction = January 7, 2014
| date_of_introduction_source = 
| using_countries = International
| inflation_rate = Limited release, production rate before this limit re-evaluated with the production of every block (at a rate of approximately 1 block per 90 seconds) based on the difficulty with which COINYEs are produced, eventually leading up to a final total of 133,333,333,333 coins.
| inflation_source_date = 
| inflation_method = 1 reward is released per block found. Rewards halve every 100K blocks.
| symbol = 
| subunit_ratio_1 = 
| subunit_name_1 = 
| subunit_ratio_2 = 
| subunit_name_2 =
| subunit_ratio_3 = 
| subunit_name_3 = 
| plural = COINYE
| plural_subunit_1 = 
| plural_subunit_2 = 
| frequently_used_coins = 
| printer = 
| mint = 
}}

'''Coinye''', formerly '''Coinye West''', is an abandoned<ref name="Coinye developers say they're abandoning project">{{cite news|last=Newton|first=Casey|title=Coinye developers say they're abandoning project as Kanye West escalates legal battle|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5308480/kanye-west-ratchets-up-legal-battle-against-coinye-operators |newspaper=The Verge |date=14 January 2014 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Marc|first1=Schneider|title=Kanye West Buries Coinye With Lawsuit Victory|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6190174/kanye-west-buries-coinye-with-lawsuit-victory|website=Billboard|access-date=23 October 2015}}</ref> [[Scrypt|scrypt]]-based [[Finance:Cryptocurrency|cryptocurrency]] that became embroiled in a trademark infringement lawsuit for using the likeness of American hip hop artist Kanye West as its [[Social:Mascot|mascot]], despite West having no affiliation with the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/oh-yeezus-cryptocurrency-gets-hip-kanye-inspired-coinye-west-2D11840387 |title=Oh Yeezus! Cryptocurrency gets hip with Kanye-inspired 'Coinye West'| author=Yannick LeJacq |work=NBC News |date=2 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102230617/http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/oh-yeezus-cryptocurrency-gets-hip-kanye-inspired-coinye-west-2D11840387 |archive-date=2014-01-02 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130992-Bitcoin-Rival-Coinye-West-To-Launch-This-Month |title=Bitcoin Rival Coinye West To Launch This Month |author=Adam Gauntlett| publisher=The Escapist |date=3 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107232313/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130992-Bitcoin-Rival-Coinye-West-To-Launch-This-Month |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> The project was abandoned by the original developers following West's filing of a trademark infringement lawsuit against them.<ref>{{cite news|last=Winograd|first=David|title=Kanye Sues Coinye, and The Cryptocurrency's Creators Back Down |url=http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/14/kanye-sues-coinye-and-the-cryptocurrency-creators-back-down/ |newspaper=TIME |date=14 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202122344/http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/14/kanye-sues-coinye-and-the-cryptocurrency-creators-back-down/ |archive-date=2014-02-02 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref>

==History==
===Release===

Coinye was originally slated for release on January 11, 2014, but legal pressure prompted David P. McEnery Jr. and his development team to release the source code and mining software on January 7, a few days ahead of schedule.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/07/kanyes-lawyer-moves-to-block-coinye/| title=Kanye's Lawyer Moves to Block Coinye |author=Danny Yadron |work=Digits|publisher={{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}|date=7 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107225209/https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/07/kanyes-lawyer-moves-to-block-coinye/ |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> Early press materials promised a proper and fair release, with no pre-allocation of coins.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clark|first=Liat|title=CoinYe West: a new cryptocurrency for the masses and ode to Kanye|date=3 January 2014|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-01/03/coinye-west|publisher=Wired|url-status=dead|access-date=19 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725014425/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-01/03/coinye-west|archive-date=25 July 2014}}</ref> However, later statements from the developers confirmed that approximately 0.37% of the maximum money supply of Coinye had been reserved for the creators of the coin before launch.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vega |first=Danny |title=Coinye West: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know |url=http://www.heavy.com/tech/2014/01/coinye-west-kanye-bitcoin/ |newspaper=Heavy |date=8 January 2014 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> The developers claimed that this was to cover unexpected legal and development costs.

===Trademark infringement lawsuit===
On January 6, 2014, Kanye West's lawyers sent the development team a [[Social:Cease and desist|cease and desist]] order on the basis that the then-unreleased currency constituted trademark infringement, unfair competition, cyberpiracy and dilution.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rose|first=Brad|title=Infringement of KANYE WEST Mark and Other Violations |date=6 January 2014 |url=https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/20140107-WSJ-coinye.pdf |publisher=Pryor Cashman LLP |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/07/bound-2-happen-kanye-west-demands-coinye-programmers-shut-down-the-digital-currency/#ixzz2pkoMJ9K0 |title=Bound 2 Happen: Kanye West Demands Coinye Programmers Shut Down the Digital Currency |author=Kyle Chayka |journal=TIME|date=7 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108030448/http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/07/bound-2-happen-kanye-west-demands-coinye-programmers-shut-down-the-digital-currency/ |archive-date=2014-01-08 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> In response to the legal threats, the development team changed the name of the currency from "Coinye West" to "Coinye" and moved to a new [[Domain name|domain name]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/07/kanyes-lawyer-moves-to-block-coinye/| title=Kanye's Lawyer Moves to Block Coinye| author= Danny Yadron |work=Digits|publisher={{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}|date=7 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107225209/https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/07/kanyes-lawyer-moves-to-block-coinye/ |archive-date=2014-01-07 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> By January 10, 2014, the development team stated that they had removed all references to West but instead "to a half-man-half-fish hybrid," a nod to a ''South Park'' episode in which West fails to realize why people are jokingly calling him a "gay fish."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/10/5295956/coinye-cryptocurrency-responds-to-kanye-west-cease-and-desist| title=Coinye responds to Kanye complaint, says currency now based on 'half-man half-fish hybrid'| author= Adi Robertson |publisher=[[The Verge]]|date=10 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110211234/http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/10/5295956/coinye-cryptocurrency-responds-to-kanye-west-cease-and-desist |archive-date=2014-01-10 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> These actions were not sufficient to appease West's legal team and a lawsuit was filed against the creators of the coin, prompting them to sell their Coinye holdings and leave the project.<ref name="Coinye developers say they're abandoning project"/>

===Developer departure and community takeover===

On January 14, 2014, a representative of Coinye announced on [[Company:Reddit|Reddit]] that "the developers basically dumped all their coins on the one exchange and left the scene."<ref name="Coinye developers say they're abandoning project"/> Coinye's official site was replaced with text reading "Coinye is dead. You win, Kanye." and the original website is now down.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Geffen |first1=Sasha |title=How much would Coinye be worth today if Kanye West hadn't sued it to death? |url=http://www.thefader.com/2017/12/13/kanye-west-cryptocurrency-coinye-worth-2017 |access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref>

===Decline of use===

Coinye has been called "defunct" by numerous publications.<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Rourke|first1=Patrick|title=Kanye West kills the Coinye, a bitcoin-like cryptocurrency named after him|url=http://o.canada.com/technology/internet/kanye-west-kills-the-coinye-a-bitcoin-like-cryptocurrency-named-after-him|website=canada.com|publisher=Postmedia Network|access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=McGovern|first1=Kyle|title=Coinye West Is Now Out of Print|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/01/coinye-west-out-of-print-kanye-west-lawsuit/|website=SPIN|date=14 January 2014|publisher=BUZZMEDIA|access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Burt|first1=Chris|title=Kanye West Sues Digital Currency Coinye, Alleged Hosting Provider AWS|url=http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/kanye-sues-digital-currency-coinye-and-aws|website=The Whir|publisher=iNet Interactive|access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref> Coinye's global block difficulty fell from 78 to 1.012 between January 18, 2014<ref>{{cite news|title=The cryptocurrency who lived twice: Coinye is back [infographic] |url=http://bitcoinexaminer.org/the-cryptocurrency-who-lived-twice-coinye-is-back-infographic/|access-date=15 February 2014 |newspaper=Bitcoin Examiner|date=18 January 2014}}</ref>  and May 7, 2014,<ref>{{cite web |title=Web Archive - CoinyeCoin Alt Explorer |url=http://altexplorer.net/chain/CoinyeCoin?hi=37282 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507162622/http://altexplorer.net/chain/CoinyeCoin?hi=37282 |archive-date=7 May 2014 |publisher=altexplorer.net |url-status=dead |access-date=19 June 2014 }}</ref> indicating that the network's total processing power fell by roughly 99% during that time. Had West not sued Coinye, some predictions put the hypothetical value at approximately twenty times its original worth, as of 2017.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thefader.com/2017/12/13/kanye-west-cryptocurrency-coinye-worth-2017| title=How much would Coinye be worth today if Kanye West hadn't sued it to death?| author=Sasha Geffen| date=December 13, 2017| publisher=The Fader| access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref> By 2017, no one was trading or mining Coinye.<ref>{{cite web|title=Where some of the weirdest cryptocurrencies of the early... |date=30 December 2017|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/30/16796716/dogecoin-litecoin-altcoin-bitcoin-coinye-west|publisher= The Verge|access-date=6 November 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20140517065834/http://coinyethecoin.com/|Archived website}}

{{Cryptocurrencies}}

[[Category:Cryptocurrencies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Coinye|1}}