Blockchain analytics captured a withdrawal of roughly $1 million worth of USDC from the NYC token’s liquidity pool by a wallet associated with former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The transaction occurred on the day the NYC token was publicly released, and the token’s market capitalization subsequently retraced sharply. Bubblemaps said the wallet linked to the token distribution moved USDC worth $2.43 million from a decentralized exchange liquidity pool, and as the price fell by more than half, only $1.50 million was redeployed. Additionally, about $932,000 of USDC’s whereabouts remain unaccounted for, with no official explanation for the timing of the transactions.
The wallet was used on the Meteora platform to set a single-direction liquidity pool. Bubblemaps said the token issuer moved 80,000,000 NYC tokens to that wallet to seed liquidity, followed by a series of transactions. Analysts noted that the liquidity withdrawal coincided with price peaks, drawing public attention. Adams announced at a press conference that the NYC token would fund anti-hate initiatives and blockchain education for children.
The project’s official site described the token as representing New York City’s innovation and diversity. Following the launch, investor inflows surged, lifting the market capitalization to roughly $600 million before liquidity changes and selling pressure pushed it down to about $110 million, with prices down more than 80% from the peak. The Libra-like collapse cited by Bubblemaps linked to Argentina’s Javier Milei underscored losses, with about 86% of investors facing losses and roughly $251 million in damages. Nansen data indicate asset freezes, investigations and class actions, and court documents suggested Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow had ties to multiple projects.
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