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A memecoin launched by Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams sparked controversy Monday after it pumped and dumped, inviting allegations of a rug pull.
NYC Token’s Rollercoaster Ride
The NYC Token (NYC) launched on the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) blockchain to fight what Adams described as growing “antisemitism and anti-Americanism” in the country and in New York City.
The memecoin started with a bang and swiftly gained a market valuation of $540 million, only to crash 80% to $87 million roughly 30 minutes later, according to Dexscreener data.
As of this writing, the meme coin was valued at $128 million, still 75% below the initial frenzy.
‘Rug Pull’ Allegations
The dramatic collapse…
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ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood is calling for an economic “Goldilocks” scenario in 2026, forecasting real GDP growth surging toward 5%, accompanied by falling inflation—and potentially outright deflation—driven by an AI-led productivity boom.
‘Goldilocks’ Return
In a latest ARK Invest video, Wood argued that the U.S. economy is exiting a three-year “rolling recession” that quietly battered housing and manufacturing.
Citing recent data showing real GDP growth already topping 4% in late 2025, she expects this momentum to accelerate.
Contrary to consensus fears that rapid growth triggers inflation, Wood posits that the current surge is fueled by technology and productivity, which…
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Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) put forth a bipartisan bill on Monday with the intent to shield blockchain developers from being categorized as money transmitters under federal law.
‘Stop Treating Software Developers Like Banks’
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act aims to exempt “non-controlling” software developers and infrastructure providers from federal money transfer requirements.
Non-controlling developers are defined as those who develop or maintain blockchain-based ledgers but lack the legal authority to control transactions without third-party approval.
The bill also designated offering hardware or software for customer self-custody…
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Bettors on Polymarket now assign over a 50% probability to a U.S. military strike on Iran this month, following a new advisory urging Americans to leave the protest-hit country immediately.
Rising Tensions: US Strike Odds Surge
The odds that the U.S. will strike Iran by Jan. 31 have risen to 54%, up 9 percentage points in the last 24 hours. The probability of such a military action happening by Jan. 23 jumped from 29% to 43%
Roughly $13.7 million has been wagered on this bet. The market resolves to “Yes” if the U.S. initiates a drone, missile or air strike on Iranian territory, including its embassies and consulates. However, missiles or drones that are intercepted won’t count.
Benzinga
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) said Monday that the committee has decided to postpone the markup of the cryptocurrency market structure bill from Thursday to the last week of January.
More Time Needed For Bipartisan Consensus?
Boozman said that the delay provides additional time for further discussions and refinement of the bill.
He revealed that the committee had made “meaningful progress” and had “constructive” bipartisan discussions over the weekend. Boozman reiterated his commitment to moving forward with the bipartisan crypto market structure legislation.
“To finalize the remaining details and ensure the broad support this legislation requires,…
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said today that it remains unclear whether the U.S. government will move to seize the widely discussed Bitcoin holdings rumored to be tied to Venezuela, an uncertainty that comes as Washington seeks to bring greater regulatory clarity to digital asset markets.
Atkins told Fox Business the question of pursuing the so‑called Venezuela Bitcoin stash — variously estimated at roughly 600,000 BTC, or about $56 billion to $67 billion at current prices — is “still to be seen” and is being handled by other parts of the administration.
“I leave that to others to deal with. That’s not my focus,” Atkins said,…
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Iran’s national currency, the rial, has completely collapsed against the U.S. dollar as the country’s economic crisis worsens. The value of one rial is now worth $0.00 right now.
On the open market, one U.S. dollar now trades for roughly 1.4 million rials, a collapse that has erased decades of purchasing power and fueled widespread unrest.
The currency’s plunge isn’t new, but the pace of decline in 2025 and early 2026 has been dramatic. Sanctions remain severe, oil revenues have shrunk, and political instability has driven investors and ordinary Iranians to seek alternatives to the rial and even to the U.S. dollar.
Inflation is soaring. Prices on food, medicine and…
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