‘Bitcoin Mayor’ Eric Adams Draws Crypto Backlash After NYC Token Liquidity Shock

• Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams launched “NYC Token” in Times Square, claiming proceeds would fund efforts against antisemitism through an unnamed nonprofit, though he provided few technical details.
• The token’s market cap hit US$580 million before crashing 80%; on-chain analysts flagged a “rug pull” after a deployer wallet removed US$2.5 million in liquidity at the peak.
• Adams defended the project on Fox Business, dismissing the crash as a “liquidity rebalance” while repeatedly referring to the industry as “block change technology.”

Former NYC mayor Eric Adams promoted a new memecoin, “NYC Token,” on Monday in Times Square, pitching it as a project tied to civic causes and saying proceeds would support efforts against antisemitism and “anti-Americanism” through an unnamed nonprofit. 

He did not name co-founders or explain how funds would be controlled, and the launch prompted confusion with “New York City Coin,” a separate earlier project that was later delisted by major exchanges in 2023 for low liquidity.

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Another Memecoin Rugpull…

Trading in NYC Token spiked immediately after launch, with the token briefly reaching a reported US$580 million (AU$887.4 million) market value before a steep reversal. The website lists a total supply of 1 billion tokens and says 70% is allocated to a “reserve” that is excluded from circulating supply.

The price drop intensified after onchain researchers flagged liquidity movements. Bubblemaps and other analysts said a wallet linked to the token’s deployer removed about US$2.5 million (AU$3.8 million) in USDC liquidity near the peak.

They said roughly US$1.5 million (AU$2.2 million) was later added back only after the token had fallen more than 60%, leaving about US$900K (AU$1.3 million) not returned.

Adams denied “rug pull” accusations. In an emailed statement Tuesday, he said a market maker shifted liquidity to keep trading functioning and claimed the team has not sold tokens and is subject to lockups and transfer restrictions. 

In a Fox interview with Maria Bartiromo, he gave vague answers, not to call them bizarre, about the token’s use case and twice referred to blockchain as “block change technology.”

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