Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams decided Monday was a great day to enter the meme coin business. Wearing a Fendi scarf and baseball cap emblazoned with the NYC ticker symbol, Adams unveiled his Solana (SOL)-based token to the world. Within minutes, it had reached a $580 million market cap. Then it promptly lost 81% of its value as nearly $500 million evaporated into the crypto ether.
If this sounds familiar, that's because politician-backed meme coins crashing spectacularly is becoming something of a pattern.
From $580 Million to $110 Million in Minutes
Adams pitched the token as a way to fight "antisemitism and anti-Americanism" while teaching children about blockchain technology. Noble goals, perhaps, but the launch itself raised more red flags than a May Day parade.
Analytics firm Bubblemaps identified suspicious activity almost immediately. A wallet identified as 9Ty4M created one-sided liquidity pools on Meteora, then removed approximately $2.5 million in USDC right at the market cap peak. After the token dropped 60%, the same wallet added back $1.5 million with no explanation for the liquidity gymnastics.
Blockchain data tells an even starker story: the wallet linked to the token deployer pulled $3.18 million USDC from the liquidity pool precisely when the price peaked. One unfortunate trader managed to lose $473,500 in under 20 minutes as panic selling took hold—a 63.5% loss that probably made for an unpleasant afternoon.
The Charity Pitch and Missing Details
During a Fox Business interview, Adams explained that "a substantial amount of the money raised" would go to nonprofits, historically black universities, and scholarships for New York City students from underserved communities. He's not currently taking a salary from the project, though he noted that decision could change later.
The token has a maximum supply of 1 billion coins, with 80 million available at launch expanding to 300 million in circulation. The official website describes NYC Token as representing "the spirit of New York City—innovation, diversity, and the drive to succeed."
What's missing from the website is perhaps more telling than what's there. Critical details like project partners and a whitepaper are nowhere to be found, raising obvious questions about transparency when you're asking people to invest in your political meme coin.
The Argentina Connection
This collapse looks remarkably similar to last year's LIBRA token promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei. That token also crashed after liquidity manipulation, and it led to fraud and racketeering class-action lawsuits. Bubblemaps noted the liquidity manipulation in Adams' launch closely mirrors the LIBRA disaster, where actors heavily manipulated liquidity pools.
The pattern of politician-backed meme coins launching with fanfare before immediately collapsing is becoming genuinely concerning. These aren't just random crypto projects going sideways—they involve elected officials with actual power and influence.
Adams' Crypto Track Record
Adams earned the nickname "Bitcoin Mayor" after taking his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) back in 2022. He hosted NYC's inaugural Crypto Summit last year and established the Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology, vowing to make New York "the crypto capital of the globe."
Now he's joined TRUMP (TRUMP) and MELANIA (MELANIA) in the exclusive club of politician-backed meme coins that combine celebrity influence with crypto speculation.
Growing Political Pressure
The timing is interesting, to say the least. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) is among lawmakers calling for ethics rules preventing public officials from profiting off crypto ties, with a market structure bill approaching Thursday's markup vote. These tokens raise legitimate concerns about corrupting elected officials through what amounts to unregulated fundraising mechanisms.
Worth noting: a federal judge dismissed Adams' corruption charges in April at the Department of Justice's request under President Trump. Now he's launching crypto tokens with suspicious liquidity patterns. The optics aren't great.
The fundamental question remains: should politicians be launching speculative crypto assets while in office or seeking office? When those tokens immediately crash amid suspicious trading activity, the question basically answers itself.