A post on Lil Tay’s verified Instagram account reported that the 15-year-old influencer had died on Wednesday. This post has since been deleted, and speculation is that it was a hoax. On Thursday, a Lil Tay cryptocurrency coin was released with a total supply of 100 coins, though nobody has yet come forward to claim responsibility for it.
Harry Tsang, Tay’s ex-manager, told Insider that he had been planning a Lil Tay cryptocurrency and had begun developing the token in April. However, he denied any involvement in the one released and took down the website he’d launched earlier this year.
On Twitter, Tsang warned users of a potential scam involving the token. He and Lil Tay’s father, Christopher Hope, both declined to comment on the Instagram post and would not confirm whether she was still alive. Local police and medical examiners in Los Angeles and Vancouver had no information on an investigation into the death of anyone named Claire Hope.
Lil Tay rose to fame at the age of nine and was known for her provocative videos in which she was seen with luxury cars and stacks of cash. In 2018, a leaked video revealed that her brother, Jason Tian, was feeding her lines and giving her cues on what to say. This led to her social media being wiped, though it was eventually restored.
In 2021, Lil Tay and her brother returned to social media, accusing their father of physical and emotional abuse and setting up a GoFundMe to raise legal funds. Christopher Hope denied the allegations with a cease-and-desist order sent to Instagram.
