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

On May 4, a slice video of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu shooting himself in a live stream spread on the internet. At the time, many people saw it as similar to the previous Pump.Fun's bizarre live stream, just another "plot" staged by a meme developer for attention. However, by the afternoon of May 6, a screenshot of Jeffy Yu's obituary began circulating on social media, and only then did people start linking it to the "suicide clip" from two days earlier.

As the attention escalated, 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 "debunking" messages and shared a screenshot of a letter Jeffy Yu had sent to an early investor. In the letter, he mentioned that in order to escape the prolonged harassment and threats he had been facing and to try to prevent the collapse of his project's tokens ZEREBRO and OPAIUM, he decided to "fake his death" to get away. Related Read: "22-Year-Old $800 Million AI Project Founder's Suicide Leaves Behind a New Experiment?".

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

May 7

Suspected Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu's associated address sells 35.55 million ZEREBRO tokens, worth approximately $1.27 million

At 9:46 AM, according to Lookonchain monitoring, a suspected Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu's associated address sold 35.55 million ZEREBRO tokens 50 minutes earlier, receiving 8,572 SOL, approximately $1.27 million, and then transferred 7,100 SOL ($1.06 million) to the LLJEFFY development wallet "G5sjgj."

Wonderland Founder Exposes Jeffy Yu's "Death Hoax" Letter: Faked his death to escape ongoing harassment and threats, pretending to commit suicide to avoid a token price crash

At 2:05 AM, crypto KOL and Wonderland founder Daniele posted stating that Jeffy Yu, the developer of the Zerebro project, faked his own death. Funeral websites, obituaries, and condolences poured in, and the entire crypto community mourned for him. But now, there is compelling evidence that he is still alive.

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

Legacy Obituary Platform Allegedly Removes Deceased Information of Zerebro Co-Founder Jeffy Yu

On May 7, the obituary publication website Legacy allegedly removed the deceased information 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 p.m., possibly influenced by the news of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu's "fake death," LLJEFFY's market cap briefly experienced a "needle drop" to $2 million before rebounding to $6 million.

Wonderland Founder: Jeffy Yu Is Not Deceased

At 8:40 p.m., cryptocurrency KOL and Wonderland founder Daniele posted, "You turned the Zerebro developer (who, by the way, is not dead) into some kind of martyr to evade responsibility. It's ridiculous. This is the crypto world. I've been attacked countless times and yet I'm still here. Haters are part of the game. Complain less, do more."

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

At 8:19 p.m., cryptocurrency KOL Irene Zhao tweeted, "I just asked someone in the know, and he said Jeff faked his death."

LLJEFFY Market Cap Briefly Surpasses $30 Million

Around 19:50, influenced by Zerebro DEV's scheduled article, the market cap of LLJEFFY briefly exceeded $30 million.

Zerebro DEV Allegedly Releases Scheduled Article: Dead Man's Switch Triggered, LLJEFFY Is My Final Art Piece

Around 18:40, Zerebro DEV allegedly released a scheduled article, with the main content stating: "If you are reading this article, it's because my 72-hour dead man's switch has been triggered. LLJEFFY is my 'final art piece,' representing a concept called Legacoin—developers only buy in, never sell, assets permanently lock on-chain upon death, symbolically preserving digital heritage."

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

At 15:34, a crypto community user Vee stated that a Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu's address (G5sjgjPdFdoz7hRa49yDobeSdqMooCmDwsCUERqLTfyr) was 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, 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 a trading volume exceeding $150 million.

Despite related reports and widely circulated videos, the only website seemingly confirming Yu's death—Legacy's credibility has been questioned. Legacy is a pay-for-release site, with only a 1.3-star rating on Trustpilot. According to crypto sleuth dethective, this has raised some skepticism.

dethective stated: "If I wanted to craft a narrative, how would I do it? Put yourself in a scammer's shoes. If I wanted to launch a scam coin through a fake death, I would search for paid obituaries on Google. It's really sad that we are in a place where we need to question if someone has really died, so I'm just sharing the sources I found. Regardless, even if the story is true, the worst thing would be to hype up a token supposedly related to someone's death due to speculation-induced mental health issues."

Obituary Posting Website Legacy Releases Obituary for Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu

Around 2:30 PM, obituary posting website Legacy announced that Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu passed away in May 2025 at the age of 22. The obituary also stated that Jeffy was a tech enthusiast from a young age, entering Stanford University to study computer science at 15. By 19, he was already working as a full-time software engineer in Santa Cruz. Two years later, he co-founded a company with others and within less than six months, grew the company to a valuation of 8 billion USD.

May 4th

Zerebro Co-founder Jeffy Yu's Suicide Livestream Clip Circulates Online
On May 4th, a livestream clip of Zerebro co-founder Jeffy Yu shooting himself circulated online, with many initially treating the act as just another sensational livestream akin to what had previously appeared on Pump.Fun, seen as a mere attention-seeking move by a meme developer.

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