Bubblemaps showed $2.5 million in USDC removed near the peak, with $900,000 not returned after partial additions.
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has launched a Solana-based meme coin that he said is aimed at fighting antisemitism and supporting the next phase of innovation in the city.
The token, called the New York City token (NYC), was announced in a Jan. 13 post on X and quickly went live for trading on the Solana decentralised exchange Jupiter.
In the post, Adams shared a link to the token’s official website and said the project was built to fight the spread of antisemitism and anti-Americanism across the US and New York City.
The NYC token initially saw strong momentum after it began trading.
It rallied to a high of $0.58 and briefly reached a market cap of $580 million, according to DEXScreener data.
As the price fell, accusations surfaced online that the team behind the token may have removed liquidity, adding to fears of a potential rug pull.
Crypto analyst Rune flagged data indicating that at least $3.4 million had been drained from the token’s liquidity pool.
Separately, analytics posted by Bubblemaps suggested that a wallet linked to the token’s deployer removed $2.5 million in USDC liquidity when the token was trading near its peak.
After the price had already plunged by more than 60%, about $1.5 million in USDC was added back.
Still, roughly $900,000 was not returned, which further fuelled suspicion among some community members and investors.
The allegations have not been confirmed, but the timing and size of the liquidity movements quickly became a central focus of discussion.
In response to the concerns, the NYC token X account released a statement claiming the project is using Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) mechanisms to manage price stability.
The account said funds were being added to the liquidity pool gradually to reduce the risk of further disruption after the initial volatility seen during the launch.
Despite that explanation, the episode has kept attention on how liquidity is handled for newly launched meme coins, especially when trading activity accelerates rapidly across decentralised markets.
While the token’s official website offers limited detail about the project’s long-term direction, Adams said in a Fox Business interview that proceeds from the NYC token would go toward nonprofits focused on raising awareness about antisemitism and anti-Americanism through educational campaigns.
Other proposed use cases include funding blockchain and crypto education, along with scholarships for students in underserved communities.
Adams officially stepped down as mayor on Jan. 1, after being replaced by Zohran Mamdani.
