Token NYC from the former New York City mayor drops 80% amid liquidity manipulation suspicions

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Former New York City Mayor Suspected of Scamming with Token That Plummeted 80% Original Link: https://portaldobitcoin.uol.com.br/ex-prefeito-de-nova-york-e-suspeito-de-dar-golpe-com-token-que-desabou-80/ A wallet linked to the recently launched cryptocurrency of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams reportedly pocketed nearly US$ 1 million through suspicious manipulation of a liquidity pool.

The creator of the NYC token sent 80 million coins to an account that added the tokens as liquidity on a decentralized exchange. This account then withdrew US$ 2.43 million in USDC before adding back US$ 1.5 million, leaving approximately US$ 932,000 in USDC liquidity without explanation, as confirmed by the on-chain analysis platform Bubblemaps.

The incident occurs amid increasing scrutiny of politically supported cryptocurrencies, including memecoins, following last year’s collapse of the LIBRA token promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, which resulted in collective fraud and extortion lawsuits.

Bubblemaps also identified suspicious activity, reporting that wallet 9Ty4M, associated with the creator of the NYC token, created unilateral liquidity pools on a DEX platform.

“This wallet then: withdrew about US$ 2.5 million in USDC at the peak, re-added about US$ 1.5 million in USDC after a -60% drop,” Bubblemaps reported. “There was no explanation for these liquidity movements. Unfortunately, this resembles the launch of $LIBRA, where liquidity was also heavily manipulated.”

The former mayor announced the token at a press conference in Times Square, saying the project aimed to combat “antisemitism and anti-Americanism” using the revenue generated by the token, as well as teach children “how to embrace blockchain technology.”

The NYC token has a maximum supply of 1 billion units, representing “the spirit of New York — innovation, diversity, and the will to succeed,” according to the token’s official website.

NYC reached a market cap of US$ 600 million before crashing to around US$ 110 million. The token’s price fell more than 81%, dropping from a peak of about US$ 0.58 to just US$ 0.11.

Political Disasters

The LIBRA token scandal involving President Milei resulted in asset freezes, fraud investigations, and class-action lawsuits.

Only 14% of LIBRA investors made a profit, while 86% of those who invested in the token lost a total of US$ 251 million, according to a Nansen report.

Legal documents in a class-action lawsuit in the US later identified the co-founder of a DEX platform, Benjamin Chow, as the mastermind behind at least 15 token launches following an “identical script,” including the highly prominent MELANIA and LIBRA tokens.

The lawsuit alleges that First Lady Melania Trump and President Milei were used as “pieces to legitimize” what prosecutors describe as coordinated liquidity traps.

The MELANIA token, promoted by the First Lady just two days after President Trump’s memecoin debut in January, reached nearly US$ 7 billion in market value before crashing 99%, hitting US$ 80 million in the following months.

In November, an Argentine judge froze assets related to the LIBRA scandal after investigators discovered possible “indirect payments to public officials” by the CEO of a digital asset management company.

Bubblemaps linked wallets used to launch MELANIA and LIBRA, revealing a pattern of coordinated manipulation.