How Crypto Enthusiasts Hijacked a Dog Mayor Competition

New York|How Crypto Enthusiasts Hijacked a Dog Mayor Competition

It sounds like a fun, friendly online competition. Some cute dogs are chosen, and the public votes for their favorites. At the end, one dog claims the top prize.

So how did the Honorary NYC Dog Mayor Election of 2024 turn into a morass of ballot stuffing, vituperation and — ugh — cryptocurrency-influenced chicanery?

The early rounds of the 16-dog bracket seemed normal: Mello the Samoyed beat Puccini the Yorkiepoo. Mr. Tobi the silky terrier beat Louie the French bulldog.

But something was up with Bertram the Pomeranian. He was a likely favorite on his own, given his nearly 400,000 Instagram followers, and his social media moment posing as an uncanny Paddington Bear look-alike.

As the competition progressed, however, it seemed that somebody had created a cryptocurrency named after Bertram and begun pushing his candidacy. And some of the coin’s enthusiasts were sure that the better Bertram did in the contest, the more the price of his eponymous currency would rise.

Another strong contender was Enzo the Shih Tzu, owned by Olivia Caputo, a full-time influencer. (Enzo has almost 100,000 Instagram followers and, like the other entrants, was recruited for the competition.)