Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing intense scrutiny following the launch of his “NYC Token” cyber coin, which plummeted 81 percent shortly after its debut on Monday. 

On-chain data has disclosed suspicious liquidity maneuvers centered around a specific wallet, 9Ty4M, sparking allegations of a “rug pull” from the crypto community, according to numerous reports.

The token, launched on the Solana blockchain, initially surged to a market capitalization of nearly $600 million. However, the project’s value evaporated minutes after launch, wiping out nearly $500 million in paper value.

Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps identified wallet 9Ty4M as the center of the controversy, according to the Decrypt website. According to their analysis, this wallet, which is associated with the token’s deployer, executed a series of transactions that drained millions from the project’s liquidity pool.

“This wallet then: removed ~$2.5M USDC at the peak, added back ~$1.5M USDC after a -60% drop,” Bubblemaps reported in a tweet, noting that approximately $932,000 in USDC remains unaccounted for. “There has been no explanation for these liquidity moves.”

Further analysis shows that the creator of the NYC token sent 80 million coins to the 9Ty4M account, which then added the tokens as liquidity on a decentralized exchange before executing the withdrawal.

The incident has drawn comparisons to other controversial launches involving political figures. “This is unfortunately reminiscent of the $LIBRA launch, where liquidity was also heavily manipulated,” Bubblemaps noted, referring to the token promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, which spawned several fraud lawsuits.

Mr. Adams, who announced the project Monday at a Times Square press conference clad in a Fendi scarf and baseball cap, pitched the token as a tool to combat “antisemitism and anti-Americanism” and teach children blockchain technology. 

Often referred to as the “Bitcoin Mayor” for taking his first three mayoral paychecks in cryptocurrency, Mr. Adams defended the project’s vague utility during a Fox Business interview.

“Let’s look at the best use case of blockchain: Walmart. Walmart is using blockchain right now to deal with their tracking of food and tracking of the goods in their stores,” Mr. Adams said before the launch. 

“It is transparent, anyone can see it, and when you look at this coin, our New York City Coin, the money that is generated from this coin, we’re going to zero in on how do we stop this massive increase of antisemitism across our country and across the globe, really, and how do we deal with the increase in anti-Americanism?”

Despite the lofty goals stated by the former mayor, the crypto community remains skeptical. One trader reportedly lost $473,500 in less than 20 minutes as panic selling ensued.

“Eric Adams, former NYC major, has just removed liquidity of his new memecoin, $NYC, scamming investors for over $2,536,301,” tweeted user RuneCrypto, capturing the sentiment of many investors. “He launched a $NYC memecoin just 30 minutes ago, and has removed its liquidity after promoting it on his personal social media.”

Mr. Adams has not yet commented on the specific allegations regarding wallet 9Ty4M or the missing liquidity.