Ex-NYC Mayor’s Token Turns Rug Pull Nightmare: Over $3 Million Drained from Liquidity Pools

The launch of the NYC token, tied to former NYC mayor Eric Adams, quickly turned disastrous after it collapsed within hours.

What followed were allegations of insider selling and liquidity manipulation, sparking outrage and a wave of scrutiny across the crypto industry.

Political Token Disaster

According to on-chain analysts and blockchain tracking platforms, the token was launched suddenly and quickly gained massive attention due to Adams’ name and public promotion. Many traders assumed it had some official or civic backing. The hype pushed NYC’s market capitalization to nearly $600 million in a very short time.

However, the rally was short-lived. Data shared by Bubblemaps revealed suspicious liquidity pool activity tied to a wallet connected to the token’s deployer. One wallet, identified as 9Ty4M, created a one-sided liquidity pool on Meteora and later removed around $2.5 million in USDC near the price peak.

After the token crashed by roughly 60%, the same wallet added back only about $1.5 million and managed to extract close to $1 million from the pool. No explanation was provided for these moves.

Shortly thereafter, NYC’s market cap plunged below $100 million. Blockchain investigator Rune Crypto went further, alleging that the launch was a rug pull. It also said that the total liquidity removed later rose above $3.4 million. Lookonchain also confirmed that liquidity was pulled at the peak, which triggered panic selling across the market. One trader alone reportedly lost $473,500, which is more than 63%, in less than 20 minutes.

The token’s ownership structure raised immediate red flags, as one wallet held about 70% of the total supply and the top 10 wallets controlled nearly 99%. This level of concentration gave insiders almost total control over price action.

Further exacerbating the situation, multiple fake NYC tokens appeared at the same time, which ended up splitting liquidity and misleading traders. Adams framed the token as a political statement tied to fighting antisemitism and anti-Americanism, but investigators stressed there was no government involvement, public funds, or transparency behind the project. As liquidity vanished and prices collapsed, market watchers compared the incident to previous manipulated launches and called it one of the most extreme political-themed crypto rugs seen so far in 2026.

Hoskinson Weighs In on Meme Coins

The chaos surrounding the NYC token echoes concerns in the industry about politically tied tokens and the risks they pose to investors. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson criticized US President Donald Trump’s involvement with meme coins, including the Official Trump Coin, calling it “extractive” and politically divisive.

He said the rollout of these tokens undermined bipartisan efforts to regulate crypto, stalling legislation like the Clarity Act and creating an environment where the sector risks being seen as corrupt. Hoskinson added that launching such coins without proper structure or transparency alienates half the country and leaves investors exposed to losses, and worsens public perception of crypto.

While not against meme coins in principle, he warned that politicized launches can collapse trust, fuel scams, and turn the market into a “predatory free-for-all.”

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