Timeline | 22-year-old Zerebro Co-founder's「Death」 Mystery: Posthumously Launched Coin to Memorialize Himself, Associated Address Continuously Dumping Tokens

On May 4, a clip of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu committing suicide by gunshot was shared online during a live stream. At the time, many viewed it as similar to the previous Pump.Fun's macabre livestream, just another "plot" staged by a meme developer for attention. However, by the afternoon of May 6, a screenshot of Jeffy Yu's obituary started circulating on social media, and people then began connecting it with the "suicide clip" from two days prior.

With the increasing attention, the associated meme token LLJEFFY saw a surge in market value, briefly exceeding $30 million. However, on the evening of the 6th, several Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) posted about "debunking" and shared a screenshot of a letter Jeffy Yu had sent to an early investor. In the letter, he stated that, in order to escape prolonged harassment and threats and to attempt to prevent the collapse of his project's tokens ZEREBRO and OPAIUM, he decided to "fake his own death." Related read: "22-Year-Old $8 Billion AI Project Founder Commits Suicide, Leaving Behind a New Experiment?".

The truth of the event is still unfolding, and BlockBeats will continue to track and update on the progress. Below is a timeline summary:

May 9

Foreign Media: Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu Currently Living at His Parents' House

On May 9, according to George Kelly, a reporter from The San Francisco Standard, it was reported that the previously rumored deceased Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu was found to be living at his parents' house. George Kelly had a brief conversation with Jeffy Yu at the residence. However, Jeffy Yu refused to discuss the suicide allegations and whether he benefited economically from it, only stating: "I've been doxxed, harassed. If you can find me, others can find me. I'll have to move my parents out this week."

May 7

Suspected Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu Associated Address Sells 35.55 Million ZEREBRO Tokens, Equivalent to $1.27 Million

At 9:46 AM, as monitored by Lookonchain, an address associated with the suspected Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu sold 35.55 million ZEREBRO tokens, receiving 8,572 SOL tokens, equivalent to approximately $1.27 million. The address then transferred 7,100 SOL ($1.06 million) to the LLJEFFY development wallet "G5sjgj."

Wonderland Founder Reveals Jeffy Yu's "Pseudocide" Email: Faked His Death to Escape Ongoing Harassment and Threats, Avoid Token Price Crash

At 2:05 AM, cryptocurrency Key Opinion Leader (KOL) and Wonderland founder Daniele posted that Zerebro project developer Jeffy Yu had faked his own death. Funeral home websites, obituaries, and eulogies emerged one after another, and the entire crypto community mourned for him. However, there is now conclusive evidence that he is still alive.

Jeffy Yu sent a detailed email to an early investor, revealing that this was a carefully planned "pseudocide exit" scheme. Jeffy Yu stated that due to ongoing harassment from a former partner, malicious doxxing, and online hatred, he chose to "permanently exit" by faking his death in a video. In the email, he admitted that this was the "only way out" to prevent a sharp drop in the project's token price. He mentioned that he has already disabled all social media accounts, plans to focus on his music career under an anonymous identity, emphasized that this action is not for profit, and has informed his family and friends about his safety. This event is believed to be the first instance of a "pseudocide exit strategy" in cryptocurrency history.

Legacy Obituary Platform Allegedly Removes Death Announcement of Zerebro Co-Founder Jeffy Yu

On May 7, the obituary publication website Legacy allegedly removed the death announcement of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu, and the original obituary link can no longer be accessed.

May 6

LLJEFFY Market Cap "Needle Drop" Touches $2 Million
Around 10 PM, possibly influenced by Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu's "fake death" news, the LLJEFFY market cap briefly experienced a "needle drop," touching $2 million before rebounding to $6 million.

Zerebro DEV Github May 6 Operation Records Suspected to Be Deleted

According to a Github screenshot, Zerebro DEV's Github operation records for May 6 are suspected to have been deleted.

Wonderland Founder: Jeffy Yu Is Not Deceased

At 20:40, Crypto KOL and Wonderland founder Daniele posted, saying, "You treating Zerebro developers (by the way, he's not dead) as some kind of martyr to evade responsibility just leaves me speechless. This is the crypto world. I've been hacked countless times, yet I'm still here. Hacking is part of the game. Complain less, do more."

Irene Zhao: Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu Suspected of Faking Death

At 20:19, Crypto KOL Irene Zhao posted, saying, "I just asked an insider, and he said Jeff is faking his death."

LLJEFFY Market Cap Temporarily Surpasses $30 Million

Around 19:50, influenced by the Zerebro DEV timed article, LLJEFFY's market cap temporarily surpassed $30 million.

Zerebro DEV Suspected of Releasing Timed Article: Death Switch Triggered, LLJEFFY is my Final Artwork

Around 18:40, the Zerebro DEV is suspected of releasing a timed article, with the main content being: If you are reading this article, it's because my 72-hour death switch has been triggered. LLJEFFY is my "final artwork," representing a concept called Legacoin—developers only buy-in, never sell, with assets permanently locked on-chain after death to symbolize the eternal existence of digital heritage.

Analysis: Jeffy Yu's Address Still Selling ZEREBRO, Community Widely Questions the Authenticity of His Death

At 17:18, crypto community user Vee stated that one of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu's addresses (G5sjgjPdFdoz7hRa49yDobeSdqMooCmDwsCUERqLTfyr) is still "selling ZEREBRO and then sending USDC to HTX." These funds were later transferred to another address owned by Jeffy Yu, who created the LLJeffy token. Within hours of the news of Jeffy Yu's death emerging, ZEREBRO's price dropped from $0.0427 to $0.0409, and has since rebounded to $0.0428. At the end of April, the token experienced a 300% surge, with trading volume exceeding $150 million.

Despite related reports and widely circulated videos, the only website that seems to confirm Yu's death — Legacy — is being questioned for its credibility. Legacy is a pay-to-publish website, receiving only a 1.3-star rating on Trustpilot. According to crypto detective dethective, this has raised some suspicions.

dethective stated, "If I were to create a narrative, how would I do it? Think from a scammer's perspective. If I wanted to launch a shitcoin through a fake death, I would search for a paid obituary on Google." "It's truly sad that we find ourselves in a position where we need to question if someone has really died, so I'm just sharing the sources I found. In any case, even if this story is true, the worst thing would be to hype a token supposedly related to someone's death due to speculation-induced mental health issues."

Legacy Obituary Website Publishes Obituary for Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu

Around 2:30 PM, the obituary publication website Legacy announced the passing of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu in May 2025 at the age of 22. The obituary also revealed that Jeffy was a tech enthusiast since childhood, entering Stanford University to study computer science at the age of 15. By 19, he was already a full-time software engineer in Santa Cruz. Two years later, he co-founded a company with others, growing the company to a valuation of $8 billion in under six months.

May 4th

Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu's Suicide Livestream Clip Circulates Online
On May 4th, a clip of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu shooting himself in a suicide livestream circulated online. At that time, it seemed like people were treating this act as just another sensational livestream, similar to what had previously appeared on Pump.Fun, just another attention-seeking move by meme developers.

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