New York mayor Eric Adams is raising between $5 and $10 million from the crypto industry in the upcoming mayoral race, and potentially challenge Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s viral popularity. A dedicated Web3 supporter, Adams is casting himself as the industry’s best option in America’s financial capital.
The crypto strategy largely helped Donald Trump’s campaign last year, and Eric Adams is seemingly taking the same route. So far, the Democratic Party has seemingly retained an anti-crypto perception, which might have some impact on Zohran Mamdani’s popularity.
Crypto Enters the New York Mayoral Election
After Zohran Mamdani’s upset win in the New York mayoral primary, the Democratic establishment is scrambling to thwart him in the general election.
Several contenders are trying out different strategies to oppose him, but a new report claims that sitting mayor Eric Adams is embracing crypto to cinch a win in November.
As a major global finance hub, NYC is a key battleground for crypto regulations. Thanks to the legacy of TradFi’s old opposition to crypto, the city has several hostile policies with lingering negative effects.
As mayor, Eric Adams tried to reinvigorate crypto’s position by scrapping BitLicense requirements, but this proved unsuccessful.
Nonetheless, Adams has an established track record as a crypto supporter, and he’s leaning on these connections for his bid against Zohran.
Adams recently spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, and Politico published some quotes from the mayor’s and his associates’ speeches. Apparently, some of these have been scrubbed from the official broadcast.
“When asked: What is [Adams] going to do for crypto? It’s: What is he not going to do for crypto. You ask him and he says yes. Ok? Literally. We have a lot of catching up to do, [but] with the crypto community’s support, and what I’m being told soft commitment-wise, we’ll be there in no time. In the next couple weeks, I figure we’ll be at $5 million, $10 million,” claimed Eric Lander, President of a pro-Adams Super PAC.
Compared to Adams’ track record as a crypto advocate, Zohran hasn’t made any recent public statements on the industry. It’s uncertain if Zohran would be hostile or ambivalent to crypto.
Polling shows him ahead by an enormous margin, and the crypto industry might not be enough to blunt this momentum.
NYC Mayoral Election Polls. Source: Race To The WH
However, crypto donations to Eric Adams might present a double-edged sword. Several leading Democrats have taken huge sums from the industry, and this is becoming a growing controversy.
President Trump has turned into a national symbol for crypto cash inflows, which could lead the Democratic voter base to turn against industry-backed candidates.
In other words, there are a lot of things in the air right now. Zohran has won a committed following with his firm stances, but he doesn’t necessarily have any strong beliefs regarding crypto.
The promise of Super PAC donations doesn’t seem likely to sway him to the industry’s side, but he could nonetheless continue a laissez-faire approach.
Adams’ crypto gamble, on the other hand, is very high-risk and high-reward. What if he receives $10 million in industry donations and still loses badly? Could Zohran become the “anti-crypto candidate” in response? NYC is a firmly Democratic city; could this election be a test case for blue voters turning against crypto?
These questions will become central to New York’s upcoming election and any changes to crypto policy. Despite strict regulations, major firms such as Coinbase have maintained a significant presence in the city.
Therefore, crypto conversation will likely emerge from all candidates at some point.
