NYC Mayor Mamdani: No Crypto Holdings, Won’t Buy Adams’ NYC Token
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday that he does not own any cryptocurrency and does not intend to invest in digital assets, marking a break from crypto-focused efforts associated with his predecessor. If interested, you can read the full speech at his inaugural address.
Speaking to reporters at Samson Stages, Mamdani answered “no” when asked if he held any crypto and added that he had no plans to purchase the NYC Token introduced earlier this week by former mayor Eric Adams.
Adams launched the NYC Token on Monday in his first major public initiative since leaving office, saying proceeds would support education and other social programs. The token quickly drew “rug pull” allegations following unverified reports that the team intentionally withdrew liquidity, leading to investor losses totaling millions of dollars. Those details were not publicly available at the time of Mamdani’s comments.
“Based on the behavior of removing liquidity, it does seem to fit the umbrella term that is ‘rug pulls,’” Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard said of the project, adding: “What they did effectively trapped traders, forcing many to sell at a loss in a lower liquidity environment, and adding liquidity back in does not undo the damage done.”
Mamdani, who ran on an affordability platform, offered few details on crypto policy during the run-up to the November election, which he won with 50.8% of the vote. While serving in the New York City Assembly in 2023, he backed legislation aimed at enhancing consumer protections for stablecoin issuers.
He faced opposition from several figures in the crypto sector, including Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss and David Sacks, who serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar.
Outlook for crypto policy in NYC under Mamdani
Less than two weeks into the job, Mamdani used his first mayoral address to pledge an agenda focused on “safety, affordability, and abundance,” and said his administration would pursue policies that “walk a different path” from prior leadership.
By contrast, before leaving office and as support grew for Mamdani, Adams said he would push for laws and policies favorable to the crypto industry. Adams is also known for receiving his first three paychecks as mayor in Bitcoin (BTC) in 2022 — a campaign commitment he later said he did not regret.
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