Eric Adams, who resigned as mayor of New York City two weeks ago, has brought attention to the cryptocurrency space by launching his own token NYC.
In less than 24 hours, more than half of the 4,300 traders who bought the token were left with losses. The project quickly took on the characteristics of a meme coin, with analysts describing the episode as a textbook rug-pulling scenario.
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The unexpected resurgence of political meme coins
Most people thought 2025 would mark the end of the memecoin wave.
The story lost overwhelming support from retail traders after a series of high-profile business launches by sitting presidents ended with losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
However, Eric Adams seems to have revived this trend before it was left behind forever. On Monday, the former New York City mayor announced the launch of NYC Token on social media.
Adams declared that the facility was built to “combat the rapid spread of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism.”
However, this development resulted in significant losses for most traders. NYC skyrocketed to a market capitalization of $600 million, then crashed below $100,000.
Having seen situations like this repeatedly in the past, the cryptocurrency community immediately started looking for insiders.
On-chain data fuels insider suspicions
Tracking analysis by blockchain analytics platform Bubble Map revealed that wallets linked to the token’s deployers withdrew approximately $2.5 million USDC from the liquidity pool supporting the transaction just as the New York price reached its all-time high.
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When the token dropped 60%, the New York City creator re-added $1.5 million worth of tokens.
“NYC Wallet was putting some of the funds back into the liquidity pool and creating two large buy orders (one for $200,000 and one for $300,000) making small purchases every 60 seconds. These movements were not only suspicious, but were not communicated in advance, creating a huge amount of mistrust,” Fernando Molina, Blockchain Analyst at Blockworks, told BeInCrypto.
This strategy also did little to help prices recover. It remains unclear what happened to the remaining $1 million.
Meanwhile, investors had no choice but to lick their wounds.
On Wednesday, Bubble Map revealed that 60% of the 4,300 traders who invested in the token suffered losses. More than half of the losses were less than $1,000, while others were much larger. Fifteen of them lost more than $100,000.
Analyzing the launch, Molina drew comparisons to notorious ragpulls, such as the LIBRA token launched by Argentine President Javier Millay last February.
“From a technical perspective, there were a lot of similarities. There were peculiarities in the way the liquidity pools (markets where NYC or LIBRA could trade) were generated that were less common in these launches (single-sided liquidity pools),” he said. “While there is no clear indication that it was the same team, the similarities are striking.”
Nevertheless, Adams was soon accused of being an insider.
Adams denies allegations amid scrutiny
On Wednesday, Adams’ publicist Todd Shapiro released a statement addressing the rug-pulling allegations.
“Recent reports claiming that Eric Adams moved funds from NYC Tokens are false and not supported by any evidence,” the statement reads. “At no point was his involvement for personal or financial gain.”
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The statement added that like many newly launched tokens, the project experienced significant volatility in its early years.
But this explanation did little to ease the scrutiny on Adams, who has had a unique involvement in the larger crypto scene.
As mayor of New York, Adams developed a reputation as an outspoken supporter of cryptocurrencies, frequently defending Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Even before he took office, he announced plans to receive his first three mayoral salaries in Bitcoin.
However, his words were controversial. Marked by corruption allegations and historically low approval ratings, Adams faces a difficult path to re-election.
Adams continued to position himself as a pro-crypto politician, following a strategy adopted by US President Donald Trump, who embraced crypto lobbyists ahead of his re-election campaign. This approach ultimately failed to secure him a second term.
Still, the launch of NYC Token marks the first time Adams has personally introduced a cryptocurrency project. It’s been an eventful start so far.
