Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams' memecoin faces rug pull allegations

Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams promoted a memecoin on Monday that some observers alleged had been rugged.

Adams, who left office on Jan. 1, unveiled the "NYC Token" and a related website at a press conference at Times Square on Monday, according to several local media sources.

However, several hours after the event, on-chain activity suggested that a large share of the token's liquidity might have been withdrawn. Rune Crypto alerted on X that at least $3.4 million had been drained.

Another X user, StarPlatinum, also warned that the project appears to be highly centralized and carries elevated risk.

Onchain trading visualization platform Bubblemaps also flagged unusual liquidity activity around the token. The platform pointed out that a wallet (9Ty4M), which is connected to the token deployer, removed roughly $2.5 million in USDC at the market peak and later added back about $1.5 million after the token price had dropped more than 60%.

Bubblemaps described the pattern as reminiscent of the controversial launch of the LIBRA token, where liquidity was also observed to be heavily manipulated.

The Block has reached out to Adams for further comment and information.

The project's website states that the token is deployed on Solana with a total supply of 1 billion. It also says that 70% of the supply would be allocated to what it calls a "NYC Token Reserve" and would not be included in the planned circulating supply.

The former NYC mayor said at the press briefing that the NYC Token is designed to help fund initiatives to address "anti-Americanism," antisemitism, and other of Adams' professed concerns using revenues generated by the token directed to an unnamed nonprofit, according to a New York Post report.

"As Walmart is using blockchains to deal with their food chain and transparency, we know cities can run better, and by using this New York City token, this New York City token, we’re going to continue to invest in making our city a safer city,” Adams said, cited by NYP.

Adams, who was replaced as MYC mayor by Zohran Mamdani on Jan. 1, has been a vocal supporter of the crypto and wider tech sectors, vowing to turn the largest U.S. city into the crypto capital of the world. 

Although many of Adams blockchain-related policy considerations, like using onchain record keeping, went unfulfilled, he did host the city's first crypto summit at Gracie Mansion. He also signed an executive order creating the Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain to coordinate efforts between the crypto industry and government. Adams also accepted his first three paychecks as mayor in bitcoin and ether. 

Adams has previously supported the idea for a "NYC Coin" using the same CityCoin infrastructure behind the MiamiCoin, as well as a "BitBond," which would allow investors to earn a fixed income and benefit on the appreciation of BTC.

The new NYC Token will not immediately pay Adams a salary, he said. Adams did not reveal the names of his co-founders at Monday's event. 

Last year, five federal charges connected to a historic corruption case against Adams were dropped with prejudice following a request by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Trump administration.

This is a developing story.