Eric Adams Exits New York Mayor Race, Casting Shadow Over City’s Crypto Ambitions
Pro-crypto New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced that he will drop out of his re-election bid, leaving the future of his plans to make the Big Apple a crypto capital uncertain.
“The constant media speculation about my future and the campaign finance board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign,” Evans said in an almost ninety-minute-long video posted on X.
With no clear successor committed to his digital-asset agenda, initiatives like loosening strict cryptocurrency licensing rules, accepting crypto for city services, and creating a digital advisory council face an uncertain future.
Adams Wanted To Make New York A Crypto Capital
During his term, Adams advocated for crypto and digital assets and at the start of his term in 2022 he took his first three pay checks in crypto.
Speaking at a conference in May this year, he said that New York City was “open for business” for firms operating in the crypto space.
Later that same month, Adams said that he would create a digital advisory council, with the aim to attract investment to the city and position New York City as the “crypto capital of the globe.”
Around the middle of this year, he also floated the idea of allowing crypto payments for city services and taxes. Adams went on to pitch the use of blockchain technology for city records as well.
In May, he called for the axing of New York City’s strict BitLicense program.
“Let’s get rid of the Bitcoin license and allow us to have the free flow of Bitcoin in our city,” he said.
However, city comptroller Brad Lander rejected the proposal for being “legally dubious and fiscally irresponsible.”
No Crypto Replacements For Adams Yet
Adams will continue to serve as New York City Mayor until his successor takes office on Jan. 1, 2026.
Following his decision to not run for another term, the future of his crypto plans for New York City is now uncertain.
According to the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket, Zohran Mamdani is now favored to become the city’s next mayor with 85% odds on the platform.
Polymarket odds for next NYC mayor (Source: Polymarket)
Mamdani is a democratic socialist assemblyman who has not yet clarified his stance on crypto.
During his campaign, he outlined a number of policies that raised some eyebrows among moderate Democrats and conservative opponents. As such, there are concerns that his socialist approach may be unfriendly to digital assets.
The person with the next-biggest odds on Polymarket is Andrew Cuomo, with the platform’s users seeing a 15% chance that he will become the next New York City mayor.
Cuomo is a former Governor, and previously worked as a paid adviser to the crypto exchange OKX when it dealt with a federal investigation.
However, Cuomo has been criticized by Adams, who said that Cuomo’s governorship “dismantled and destroyed the crypto industry.”
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