PANews reported on January 15th that, according to Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, through his spokesperson, issued a statement denying that he profited from the recently launched Meme Coin NYC Token and calling reports of him transferring funds from the token "false information." The NYC Token price initially surged to 58 cents after its launch, before quickly plummeting to below 10 cents, raising concerns among market observers that it resembled a "rug pull" scam.

Adams' statement emphasized that he personally did not move any investor funds, nor did he profit from the token's launch. The token's website claims to be a "community" cryptocurrency representing the energy of New York City, but has no affiliation with the New York City government or any other official agency. It remains unclear who else was involved in the token's issuance.