Jeffy Yu, creator of Zerebro was found alive at his parents’ home days after a viral video appeared to show his suicide.
Jeffy Yu, the 22-year-old developer behind the Solana-based viral meme coin $LLJEFFY, has been found alive days after a widely circulated suicide video and obituary fueled a dramatic spike in the token’s value.
Yu, the creator of the Zerebro AI project, was discovered Wednesday by a reporter from the San Francisco Standard at his parents’ home. Wearing flip-flops and appearing startled by the encounter, Yu confirmed he was alive and expressed frustration over being “doxxed” and “harassed.”
He also voiced concern for his family’s safety, saying, “You can see the PTSD in my eyes, right?” before asking the reporter to leave.
Rumors of Yu’s death began circulating over the weekend after a now-deleted video went viral on X (formerly Twitter), allegedly showing him smoking a cigarette before appearing to shoot himself.
Shortly after, a blog post attributed to Yu appeared online, reflecting on themes of fame and digital legacy. It framed his apparent suicide as part of a final artistic gesture — a so-called “legacoin.”
The controversy sparked a frenzy around the Solana-based token $LLJEFFY, which surged 2,115% in value, reaching a market cap of $105 million.
However, skepticism grew when on-chain analysts noticed the deployer wallet actively trading the token despite Yu’s supposed death. Confidence evaporated, and within an hour, the token’s market cap plummeted 86.8% to $13.8 million.
Adding to the confusion, an obituary published via Legacy.com and credited to the San Francisco Chronicle described Yu as “a visionary artist, technologist, and cultural force.” The obituary was later taken down.
