Former New York City mayor Eric Adams has launched a meme coin like President Donald Trump and crypto traders are hardly impressed.
Similar to how the TRUMP coin crashed, Adams' coin has also crashed.
Understanding meme coins
A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency that is created as a joke or a prank on the mainstream crypto industry.
Influenced by internet memes, it often gains popularity through social media or celebrity endorsements, rather than traditional fundamentals like utility or innovation.
Related: What are meme coins? Explained
Trump and Melania meme coins
Ahead of his second presidential inauguration, Trump and his wife, Melania, launched two eponymous meme coins in January 2025 to capitalize on the popularity of the couple.
Official Trump (TRUMP) hit an all-time high (ATH) of $73.43 on Jan. 19, 2025, but has since declined more than 90% in value. It was trading at $5.48 at the time of writing.
Melania Meme (MELANIA) also hit an ATH of $13.05 on Jan. 20, 2025, but has since declined more than 98% in value. At press time, it was trading at $0.1804.
The presidential couple's meme coin venture has drawn widespread criticism for alleged conflicts of interest related to the crypto project and Trump's presidential obligations.
Related: Billionaire investor found Trump's memecoin launch 'foolish'
Eric Adams launches NYC token
During his tenure as the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams earned the moniker of the "Bitcoin mayor" because he often voiced his support for the digital assets industry.
Not only did he promise to turn New York into the crypto capital of the world, but he also accepted his first three paychecks in 2021 in Bitcoin via Coinbase.
On Jan. 12, Adams launched a meme coin called the "NYC Token."
The goal of the token is to fund education and awareness programs in the face of a rise in "antisemitism" and "anti-Americanism" and to establish the city's crypto prowess, Adams said during the "Mornings with Maria" program on Fox News.
"The money that's raised is going to go to those nonprofits like Combat Antisemitism, going into the college funds, such as the historical HBCUs, so this is money that, without raising taxes, you can use to fight the issues, social issues in our city."
At first, the token skyrocketed to a market cap of $580 million, indicating a huge demand from crypto traders.
But then, it crashed 80% in a matter of minutes, The Kobeissi Letter reported on X.
Nearly $500 million in market cap has been lost since the post-launch peak, the post said.
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Crypto analysts decry 'scam' and 'rug pull'
An onchain analyst, Rune, accused Adams of removing NYC's liquidity within minutes of launching the meme coin, "scamming investors for over $2,536,301."
In fact, Rune called it a "rug pull."
The analytics platform, Bubblemaps, claimed that a wallet, 9Ty4M, connected to the token's deployer, created a one-sided liquidity pool on Meteora.
The wallet first removed nearly $2.5 million worth of USDC at the peak and then added nearly $1.5 million worth of USDC back after the token dropped by 60%.
The incident is reminiscent of the LIBRA launch that also saw manipulation of liquidity, Bubblemaps remarked .
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jan 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
