Former New York Mayor’s $3 Million Crypto Rug Pull Scandal Exposed

Political power meets crypto chaos—and investors get burned.

The Setup: From City Hall to Crypto Scam

A familiar political face pivoted to digital assets, promising revolutionary returns. The pitch deck looked polished, the roadmap ambitious. Early backers piled in, drawn by the credibility of a public figure who once managed an $80 billion municipal budget. Trust seemed baked into the deal—until the liquidity vanished.

The Pull: How $3 Million Disappeared

Smart contracts executed exactly as programmed—just not for investors. Token locks released prematurely, wallets drained systematically, and communication channels went dark. The former mayor's team cited "technical difficulties" while blockchain explorers told the real story: funds moving to mixing services and offshore exchanges. Another reminder that in crypto, reputation is just another token—and equally tradable.

The Fallout: Regulatory Whiplash

SEC subpoenas hit inboxes within 72 hours. State attorneys general launched parallel investigations, while the CFTC circled for jurisdictional claims. The irony? This all unfolded while the same politician previously advocated for "blockchain innovation zones" with lighter oversight. Sometimes the loudest regulators create the darkest shadows for their own schemes.

The Pattern: Political Crypto Plays

This isn't isolated. From congressional candidates launching meme coins to governors pushing state-backed NFTs, the political class discovered what Wall Street knew for decades: financial innovation makes excellent camouflage. The real innovation? Getting voters to fund your exit liquidity while calling it "democratizing finance."

When the blue checkmark verifies the con artist instead of the code, maybe the problem isn't decentralization—it's who we still choose to trust. The blockchain never forgets, but apparently, neither do politicians: there's always another campaign to fund, even if this time it's with your crypto.

How Much Did The Former New York Mayor Pull Out From His Crypto Project?

According to reports, Adams’ reportedly withdrew $2.5 million to $3.4 million from trading pools using addresses tied to New York City Token cryptocurrency. The former New York mayor made his withdrawal soon after HYPE around the token peaked. Reports say that the cryptocurrency project’s market cap spiked suddenly, and then crashed. Some even reported seeing drops of 60% to 80% within hours. Adams is yet to make a public statement about the entire affair.

According to Bubblemaps, a wallet connected to the New York City Token developer withdrew $2.5 million USDC at the project’s peak, and then added $1.5 million after a 60% drop.

3/ Wallet 9Ty4M, connected to the $NYC deployer, created one sided LP on Meteora

This wallet then:

> removed ~$2.5M USDC at the peak
> added back ~$1.5M USDC after a -60% drophttps://t.co/I9pCnzIGni pic.twitter.com/GUUMahk5ya

During his time in office, Adams was hailed as a pro-cryptocurrency mayor. He had publicly stated that he aimed to make New York the crypto capital of the world. Adams went as far as taking his first three salary paychecks in bitcoin (BTC), leading to many calling him “Crypto Mayor.” The debacle around NYC may leave a permanent stain on Adam’s pro-crypto demeanor. The development has also highlighted how the cryptocurrency realm is full of scams and rug pulls, despite originating from high members of society.