NYC’s ’Bitcoin Mayor’ Eric Adams Shocks Supporters by Dropping Reelection Bid
Political earthquake rocks crypto-friendly governance as Adams exits stage left.
The Fallout
New York City's pro-crypto champion just pulled the plug on his political future. Eric Adams—who famously took his first three paychecks in Bitcoin—won't be seeking another term. The announcement dropped like a bad trade, leaving both political allies and crypto advocates scrambling.
Legacy of a Bitcoin Believer
Adams transformed City Hall into a blockchain-friendly hub during his tenure. Pushed municipal crypto initiatives. Championed digital asset education. Even flirted with making NYC a Bitcoin mining hub before regulatory headwinds hit. Now that vision faces an uncertain future.
Power Vacuum
Who fills the crypto leadership void? That's the billion-dollar question. Potential successors range from blockchain skeptics to digital asset moderates. The political calculus just got rewritten overnight.
Market watchers note the timing—coming just as federal regulators tighten the screws industry-wide. Another reminder that in politics, like crypto, today's moon shot can become tomorrow's crash landing.
Crypto's shifting political tides
While Adams' exit was shaped by legal battles and low polling, observers say the decision also shows the difficulty of using digital assets as a plank for political identity.
“Adams’ departure is largely symbolic. New York loses a visible crypto advocate, but the industry’s political traction has already been shifting toward states like Texas, Wyoming, and Florida where pro-innovation policies are taking hold,” Mayuko Hamazaki, principal at Willspire Capital, told Decrypt.
Adams’ withdrawal from the mayoral race “reflects his own controversies more than crypto itself,” Hamazaki added. “Politicians can still align with digital assets effectively, but success depends on broader credibility and policy agendas, not just a crypto-friendly stance.”
Others pointed to the crypto industry’s broader inroads into national policy.
“This is a New York story, not a crypto story,” Matt Mudano, co-founder and CEO of Bitcoin-native platform Arch Network, told Decrypt.
While Adams’ was “a loud supporter of crypto adoption,” his withdrawal “had more to do with his own personal controversies and doesn’t change the underlying trend: crypto is becoming more mainstream in U.S. policy,” Mudano said, adding that with “sustained, bipartisan work on broader market rules,” the wider perception of the crypto industry will be shaped by "national wins, not one mayoral race."
Elsewhere in the U.S., politicians have incorporated crypto into their campaign platforms, such as Ian Calderon in California, who is running for governor with proposals to add bitcoin to the state’s balance sheet and allow crypto payments for public programs.
