Under the neon lights of Times Square, an absurd symphony of political aftermath and crypto frenzy

When 65-year-old Eric Adams stood in front of the dazzling LED screens of Times Square, wearing a baseball cap with "$NYC" printed on it, and pitched his cryptocurrency "inspired by New York's never-ending vitality" to onlookers and reporters, only 13 days had passed since he stepped down as the mayor of America's largest city.

The script of this absurd drama is far more complex than it appears on the surface. On January 12, Adams publicly launched "NYC Token" in the heart of Manhattan, claiming that proceeds would be used to combat anti-Semitism, anti-American sentiments, and to "teach children to embrace blockchain technology." However, within 48 hours of him saying "I will not profit from it now," the token's price plummeted 81% from its peak, with a nearly $500 million market cap evaporating. On-chain analytics tool Bubblemaps also accused its team of profiting over $1 million through cyclically extracting liquidity pool funds.

Sharp Criticism from Uniswap Founder: This is not innovation, but plunder

The incident quickly triggered strong reactions from leading figures in the crypto community. Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, posted a lengthy message on social media, though without direct naming, but clearly pointed out: "When politicians and celebrities see blockchain as a short-term arbitrage tool, they not only destroy the credibility of this technology but also overdraw public trust."

Hayden’s perspective exposes the hypocrisy of celebrity coins. He raised a core question: why do celebrities with unlimited resources and social capital always choose the laziest and most predatory ways to "participate" in the crypto economy?

"They have countless compliant and value-creating options," Hayden listed, "such as issuing tokens but committing to long-term liquidity, providing real rights to token holders (like offline event access), maintaining complete transparency of project code and fund usage. Honest operation not only brings more sustainable profits but also protects reputation and avoids legal risks."

Behind these words lies the industry trauma experienced by Uniswap as a DeFi infrastructure provider. From the hacking of its founder’s Twitter account in 2023 to various impersonation phishing attacks, Hayden knows better than anyone: when public figures treat blockchain as a scythe for harvesting profits rather than a tool for building, the legitimacy of the entire ecosystem is wounded.

"48-hour Collapse of NYC Token" Case Study

Based on on-chain data and reports from multiple media outlets, the script of NYC Token is a textbook example of a celebrity coin crisis:

• Flash crash trajectory: Within 30 minutes of launch on January 12, the price dropped from $0.47 to $0.10, market cap shrank from $500 million to less than $128 million

• Suspicious operations: Bubblemaps tracked a wallet labeled "project-related" that withdrew $2.5 million USDC at the high point; after a 60% plunge, only $1.5 million was returned, netting $1 million profit

• Information black hole: Whitepapers and purchase links listed on the official website are all invalid; team members besides Adams are undisclosed; the "non-profit organization" funding flow is vague

• Technical flaws: Adams twice mispronounced "blockchain" as "blockchange" in interviews, exposing a serious mismatch between his technical understanding and his grand narrative

More ironically, Adams once claimed to make New York the "world crypto capital," but the token he launched chose Solana instead of Ethereum—precisely the territory cultivated by Hayden Adams’ Uniswap. This "body honesty" choice perhaps hints that even he doubts the practicality of Ethereum’s high Gas fees ecosystem.

From "Bitcoin Mayor" to "Crypto Promoter": A Downward Spiral

Adams’ embrace of cryptocurrency was not a sudden whim. When he took office in 2022, he converted his first three months’ mayoral salary into Bitcoin and Ether, with Bitcoin priced around $47,000 at the time. In 2025, he promised to issue "Bitcoin bonds" at the Las Vegas crypto conference, hosted a crypto summit at the mayor’s residence, and received over $1.3 million in campaign donations from crypto billionaire Brock Pierce and others.

However, when FTX collapsed and the crypto winter set in, Adams suddenly fell silent. It wasn’t until May 2025 that he reignited the crypto narrative, by which time New York’s crypto regulatory environment had worsened due to his moral controversies—he had been federally prosecuted for illegal campaign donations (later dropped by the Trump administration), and his ambiguous relationship with crypto PACs triggered investigations by oversight organizations.

Now, after stepping down, Adams faces huge legal debts and reputation repair pressures. The "public welfare" packaging of NYC Token is less about innovation and more a crisis PR move to quickly cash in on residual political influence. He plans to visit Senegal and Dallas this week to promote New York’s "garbage collection services," a frantic attempt to commercialize municipal experience, revealing his core anxiety about life after office.

Celebrity Coin’s Death Spiral: Regulatory Vacuum and Moral Risks

The NYC Token incident is not an isolated case. From Argentina’s President Milei promoting the LIBRA token in 2024 to Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER coin, celebrity coins have formed a fixed pattern of "issue-hype-cash-out-escape." Vitalik Buterin sharply criticized last year: "These projects lack substantive purpose; they are just financial scams."

Hayden Adams’ criticism goes even further: the problem isn’t whether celebrities can issue coins, but why they always choose the most irresponsible methods. His proposed solutions—transparency, continuous liquidity commitments, real value anchoring—are precisely the self-regulation urgently needed in an industry lacking regulatory frameworks.

But self-regulation is ineffective for politicians like Adams. When New York’s new mayor Zohran Mamdani explicitly stated "will not buy NYC Token," it marked the beginning of political immunity to crypto hype. Stricter regulations are on the way: the US SEC has clearly classified such tokens as unregistered securities, and the New York Attorney General’s Office may soon launch investigations.

Blockchain should not become a tool for power extraction

The neon lights of Times Square still flicker, but NYC Token’s billboard has long become a joke within the crypto community. Adams may truly want to "teach children to embrace blockchain," but the 48-hour collapse he staged teaches only one lesson: when power and technology lack transparency and accountability, all that remains is naked plunder.

Hayden Adams’ warning is worth every investor’s remembrance: "Blockchain is an unprecedentedly powerful tool for collaboration, monetization, and value distribution, but it needs builders, not extractors." For Adams and others like him, it’s not too late—they can choose to be builders, but history will record that they chose the extractors.

Regarding politicians issuing cryptocurrencies, do you think it should be completely banned or regulated through legislation? Share your views in the comments! If you think this article exposes the essence of celebrity coins, please like and share it with more investors. Follow this account for more in-depth crypto market analysis to avoid becoming the next victim of "harvesting." Which celebrity do you most want to see "ring the alarm"? Let us know in the comments!