Eric Adams, the recently departed former mayor of New York City, endorsed a cryptocurrency called “NYC Token” on Monday during a press conference held in Times Square.
Wrapped in a Fendi scarf under a long blue coat, the crypto-friendly politician also wore a baseball cap, which suggested “NYC” would be the token’s ticker symbol.
Amid the Times Square sideshows, Eric Adams announces his “NYC Token,” a crypto coin he says will fight antisemitism.
Stratman’s post indicated that the token hasn’t debuted yet, and Adams isn’t “taking a salary” related to the initiative, but he said that a decision to pay him a salary could be reached at a later date.
Previously a supporter of digital assets in office, Adams’ remarks suggest that he will continue to have a close relationship with the technology, as a re-adapts to a private life. Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City mayor two weeks ago.
With little information about the token available online, copycat tokens flooded meme coin launchpads like Pump.fun. Hours after Adams spoke, more than a dozen such tokens were trading, borrowing the logo and ticker symbol that the former mayor displayed.
A series of copycats modeled on Eric Adams' token. Image: Decrypt/Pump.fun Adams also noted that the cryptocurrency industry had been “demonized” during his time in office, which coincided with the collapse of exchange FTX and co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s subsequent conviction for operating a sweeping fraud scheme.
Within Adams’ showing on Monday, there were echoes of the president’s meme coin, which debuted not long before Trump’s inauguration last year. The token’s debut showed how crypto-friendly politicians could swiftly leverage the technology to their own advantage.
Some onlookers heralded the debut of Trump’s meme coin as a way to bring crypto to the masses, but the token has led to apprehension among some lawmakers, who argue that it can be used as a tool to corrupt the U.S. president.
Decrypt could not immediately reach Adams for comment.
