Political Meme Coin Trend Revived by Former NYC Mayor: On-Chain Analysis Reveals Suspicious Activity

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Political Meme Coin Trend Revived by Former NYC Mayor

Eric Adams, who recently stepped down as New York City’s mayor, made a surprising move into cryptocurrency with his NYC token launch. He said it was meant to fight antisemitism and anti-Americanism, but things didn’t go as planned for most investors.

Less than a day after the token went live, more than half of the 4,300 people who bought it were already losing money. The project quickly took on meme coin characteristics, and analysts started seeing patterns that reminded them of classic rug pulls.

I think what’s interesting here is that most people thought the political meme coin trend was finished. After several high-profile launches by sitting presidents that ended badly last year, retail traders had mostly moved on. But Adams seems to have brought it back, at least for one more round.

On-Chain Analysis Reveals Suspicious Activity

Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps dug into the data and found something concerning. A wallet linked to the token’s deployer withdrew about $2.5 million in USDC from the liquidity pool right when NYC’s price hit its peak. That timing looks suspicious, to say the least.

When the token dropped by 60%, the creators added back $1.5 million worth of tokens. They also set up two large buy orders—one for $200,000 and another for $300,000—that made small purchases every 60 seconds. Fernando Molina, a blockchain analyst at Blockworks, told media these movements weren’t communicated beforehand and generated a lot of distrust.

What happened to the other $1 million? That part remains unclear. The maneuver didn’t do much to recover the price either.

The Human Cost of the Crash

By Wednesday, the damage was clear: 60% of the 4,300 traders lost money. Most lost less than $1,000, but 40 people lost between $10,000 and $100,000. Fifteen traders suffered losses over $100,000 each.

Molina noticed similarities between this launch and other notorious rug pulls, like the LIBRA token launched by Argentine President Javier Milei last February. The technical setup had particularities that aren’t common in regular token launches, especially the single-sided liquidity pools. He said there’s no clear evidence it was the same team, but the similarities are striking.

Adams Denies Wrongdoing

On Wednesday, Adams’ spokesperson Todd Shapiro issued a statement denying the allegations. He said reports about Adams moving money out of the NYC Token were false and unsupported by evidence. The statement added that Adams’ involvement wasn’t intended for personal or financial gain, and like many new tokens, it experienced significant early volatility.

But the explanation hasn’t eased scrutiny. Adams has had a unique relationship with cryptocurrency. As mayor, he cultivated a reputation as a crypto supporter, even planning to receive his first three paychecks in Bitcoin. His term was controversial though, marked by corruption allegations and historically low approval ratings.

He tried positioning himself as a pro-crypto politician, similar to what other political figures did ahead of their campaigns. That approach didn’t secure Adams a second term.

The NYC Token marked Adams’ first personal cryptocurrency project introduction. It’s off to a rocky start, and the crypto community is watching closely to see what happens next. Perhaps this will serve as another cautionary tale about political meme coins, or maybe it’s just another chapter in the ongoing story of crypto’s intersection with politics.