- Eric Adams launched the NYC Token to fund education and social projects.
- Onchain records revealed the withdrawal of significant liquidity, which raised concerns about centralization and risk to investors.
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has launched a New York City-themed crypto token as part of his first major move since leaving office. He promoted the NYC Token as a funding tool to fight antisemitism and anti-American sentiment and support blockchain education.
Adams announced the token at a Times Square press event and in posts on X. He stated that the project aims to extend New York’s influence beyond the city and promote innovation. In public statements, he described blockchain as a civic tool that can enhance transparency and public participation.
Proud to launch @buynyctoken, a new token built to fight the rapid spread of antisemitism and anti-Americanism across this country and now in New York City.
Now live at https://t.co/zowY9Ri3aK pic.twitter.com/qBMzV88Tmj
— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) January 12, 2026
In an interview with FOX Business, Adams said token proceeds would support nonprofits and the funds would be used for education programs, scholarships for underserved NYC students, and awareness campaigns. He added that blockchain education is a core component of the initiative.
The project’s website says the token is deployed on Solana with a total supply of 1 billion. It says that 70% of the supply is in a reserve and excluded from circulation. The remaining funds are distributed for community rewards, liquidity, development, marketing, and team expenses.
Adams, who took office on January 1, said the NYC Token would not pay him a salary directly. He said the initiative was an extension of his long-standing support for the crypto sector, which included accepting early mayoral paychecks in Bitcoin and Ether, as well as the establishment of the city’s Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain.
While many of his proposed initiatives regarding blockchain as mayor have never progressed beyond the planning stages. Adams remained an active advocate for pushing New York to become an epicenter for technology. He previously supported proposals such as a city-linked coin based on CityCoin infrastructure and a “BitBond” linked to bitcoin appreciation.
Onchain Activity Raises Questions on NYC Token Hours After Launch
Within hours of the token going live, analysts began flagging unusual liquidity movements. Crypto analyst Rune (@RuneCrypto_) alerted X that it seemed millions of dollars had been withdrawn shortly after launch. The onchain analytics platform Bubblemaps found that a wallet associated with the deployer withdrew approximately $2.5 million in the USDC token close to the price peak and then re-added about $1.5 million after a sharp decline.
Eric Adams, former NYC major, has just removed the whole liquidity pool of his new memecoin: a total of $3,430,000 scammed https://t.co/QgGAVzgM3H pic.twitter.com/UdEbufckS3
— Rune (@RuneCrypto_) January 12, 2026
Bubblemaps said that the pattern was similar to previous controversial token launches, where liquidity control was a central theme. DEXScreener data revealed the price of the NYC Token falling from around $0.47 to around $0.10 in around 30 minutes, which reduced its market cap from nearly $500 million to less than $110 million at the time of writing. Unverified accusations circulating on social media state more than $3.4 million in losses by investors.
Political Context Sharpens Scrutiny of Celebrity Tokens
The turbulent debut occurs during a period of heightened sensitivity to politically associated meme tokens. Recent scandals involving the LIBRA token and the Argentinian Javier Milei have resulted in frozen assets. Blockchain data firm Nansen found that the majority of LIBRA investors found themselves at a loss. At the same time, onchain analysis later showed that multiple high-profile launches have similar patterns of liquidity.
Adams is now operating in a changed political landscape. He was succeeded by Zohran Mamdani, whose platform is widely considered to be less in line with the crypto industry compared to Adams’ tenure.
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