Investors Lose Millions as Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Token Implodes

A newly launched meme coin tied to former New York City mayor Eric Adams has collapsed after on-chain data revealed that liquidity was pulled at the price peak, triggering a brutal selloff and wiping hundreds of millions off its market cap in minutes.

The token, branded as $NYC, surged to a peak valuation of roughly $600 million before crashing below $100 million, according to the analysis by the blockchain and cryptocurrency monitoring platform Bubblemaps and on-chain investigators shared on January 13.

Liquidity Pulled At The Top

Blockchain data shows that a wallet linked to the token’s deployer, identified as 9Ty4M, removed approximately $3.18 million in USDC from the liquidity pool on Meteora right as the token peaked.

Lookonchain reported that the same wallet had earlier seeded one-sided liquidity, a tactic often associated with liquidity manipulation. After the price collapsed by more than 60%, roughly $1.5 million USDC later came back to the pool. As Bubblemaps said:

“The wallet removed ~$2.5M USDC at the peak, and added back ~$1.5M after a -60% drop.”

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The sudden liquidity removal caused a sharp price breakdown, triggering widespread panic selling across decentralized exchanges.

Traders Caught In The Crash

The collapse was swift and unforgiving. One trader, identified as Dr6s2o, lost more than $473.5K (-63.5%) in under 20 minutes after buying into the rally and getting caught when the liquidity exited the pool.

On-chain transaction data shows a wave of sell orders flooding Meteora as liquidity evaporated, sending the token into a freefall.

From $600M To Under $100M In Hours

The token launched with explosive momentum after Adams announced $NYC as a “new token built to fight the rapid spread of antisemitism and anti-Americanism across this country and now in New York City.”

Speculation quickly drove the price vertical, with traders piling in as the market cap rocketed toward $600 million. But within hours, the chart flipped from parabolic to catastrophic.

Bubblemaps’ visualization shows a tightly connected cluster of wallets around the deployer address, raising further questions about insider control and coordinated liquidity management.

No Explanation From The Team

So far, there has been no explanation for the liquidity movements. Bubblemaps noted that the pattern closely resembles past controversial launches such as the $LIBRA token, where liquidity also aggressively cycled in and out of pools. 

Bubblemaps said:

“There has been no explanation for these liquidity moves. This is unfortunately reminiscent of the $LIBRA launch, where liquidity was also heavily manipulated.”

Another High-Profile Memecoin Meltdown

The $NYC collapse adds to a growing list of celebrity-linked and politically branded tokens that have ended in extreme price swings, rapid wealth destruction, and allegations of market rigging.

With meme tokens continuing to dominate retail speculation, liquidity control may remain one of the biggest hidden risks in decentralized markets. As of writing, $NYC remains more than 80% below its peak, with trading activity sharply reduced.

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