Meme Coin Controversy Disrupts NYC Dog Mayor Election, Leading to Withdrawals and Allegations of Vote Manipulation

Dog coin fans stirred up quite a ruckus in New York City’s dog mayor election this month. They jumped into the race to promote a meme coin named after one of the leading candidates.

The NYC Dog Mayor competition started as a fun way to bring joy to people during tough times. It aimed to boost community spirit in New York City while presenting politics in a light and engaging way.

Bertram the Pomeranian, a popular “doggy influencer” with nearly 400,000 followers on Instagram, was already a top contender.

But things took a turn when supporters of the BERT meme coin began using questionable tactics to rally votes and undermine Bertram’s opponents. One rival dog owner called it a move to inflate their “worthless coin.”

Olivia Caputo, who owns Enzo the Shih Tzu, one of Bertram’s biggest competitors, shared a detailed statement on Instagram. She announced her and Enzo’s withdrawal from the race, saying it had turned into a platform for spreading hate and threats against them.

In her statement, Caputo accused BERT coin supporters of offering payments and giveaways to sway votes for Bertram. She noted that their group chats suggested it was a classic pump-and-dump scheme, which could ultimately hurt people involved.

Caputo told The New York Times that she became suspicious when Bertram’s votes jumped by over 3,000 in a previous round. This spike coincided with increased social media support for Bertram and financial incentives for votes. She even saw chats on Telegram where Bertram’s supporters talked about using the platform to “pump the price.”

The BERT coin, which started trading in mid-October, saw a significant price increase this week. It jumped from $0.0017 on Tuesday to $0.054 on Thursday, even after Bertram dropped out at the last minute. His owner, Kathy Grayson, remarked, “The whole thing has been darkly hilarious.”

“It has absorbed the anxiety facing people in human elections. People are getting worked up projecting all their feelings onto this,” she added.

Stephen Calabria, the contest’s creator, expressed his original vision for the event. He intended it to be a good-natured way to promote shelter dog adoption and create a positive platform. He said, “If I never hear the word crypto again, it will be a blessing.”