Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams is under intense scrutiny from crypto traders and analysts after a memecoin he promoted, known as the “NYC Token,” experienced a dramatic liquidity withdrawal shortly after its launch. The incident has reignited debate around celebrity-backed crypto projects, memecoin risks, and transparency in blockchain-based fundraising.
Eric Adams has long positioned himself as a pro-crypto political figure. During his tenure as mayor, he repeatedly pledged to make New York the “crypto capital of the world” and famously took his first three mayoral paychecks in bitcoin through Coinbase. These actions earned him the nickname “Bitcoin mayor” among crypto advocates and positioned him as a high-profile supporter of digital assets.
On Monday, Adams unveiled the NYC Token at a Times Square press event, presenting it as a cryptocurrency tied to civic causes. The token quickly surged to a market capitalization of approximately $580 million, signaling strong initial demand from retail traders and memecoin speculators. However, the enthusiasm was short-lived. On-chain data soon revealed large liquidity movements that alarmed the crypto community.
Blockchain analytics firms, including Bubblemaps, reported that a wallet connected to the token’s deployer removed around $2.5 million in USDC liquidity near the market’s peak. Although roughly $1.5 million was later added back after the token’s price had already fallen more than 60%, about $900,000 in USDC was never returned. These actions triggered widespread accusations of a potential rug pull, a scenario where liquidity is withdrawn, leaving investors unable to exit positions without heavy losses.
The NYC Token website states that the project has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with 70% allocated to a reserve excluded from circulating supply. Adams claimed the token would fund efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Americanism through an unnamed nonprofit, but he did not disclose the project’s co-founders or provide details on fund management.
In a Fox News interview, Adams gave vague explanations of the token’s use case and made verbal missteps, including repeatedly misnaming blockchain technology. Adding to the confusion, the NYC Token is unrelated to the earlier New York City Coin launched by CityCoins, which was delisted in 2023 due to low liquidity.
