Haliey Welch, also known as the Hawk Tuah Girl, is facing controversy after reports that people lost significant amounts of money investing in her cryptocurrency.
The 22-year-old gained viral fame earlier this year after a cheeky comment launched her into the spotlight.
For anyone who might have missed it, Welch was asked to name something that could drive a man wild in the bedroom. True to her persona, she answered, “You gotta give it that hawk tuah, and spit on that thing.”
From that one viral joke, Welch quickly amassed a huge social media following and now hosts a popular podcast called Talk Tuah.
While 2024 has been a strong year for her, it’s wrapping up on a more negative note, as many of her followers are now upset with her.
This week, Welch launched her own meme coin, $HAWK, aiming to capitalize on her online fame in the crypto world.
However, the coin’s rapid rise followed by a steep decline has left fans and investors shocked, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Meme coins, which are cryptocurrencies inspired by internet memes, have surged in popularity recently, often starting as jokes but eventually gaining substantial financial value.
At first, Welch’s $HAWK coin seemed to follow that same trajectory.
The $HAWK coin skyrocketed to a market capitalization of $490 million just hours after its launch on Wednesday, but it quickly plummeted by 91% within three hours, according to CoinTelegraph.
The dramatic drop has led to accusations from both fans and the crypto community, with some speculating that “crypto snipers” — traders who exploit volatility by quickly buying and selling new tokens — may have caused the collapse.
Amidst this, rumors of insider trading have grown stronger, fueled by data from cryptocurrency analytics platforms.
Reports from Dexscreener and Coinspeaker have revealed that insider wallets and crypto snipers controlled 80-90% of $HAWK’s initial supply.
One wallet reportedly scooped up 17.5% of the token’s supply just seconds after launch, only to sell it off within 90 minutes, making a $1.3 million profit, according to Solscanner.
Needless to say, people are furious.
“I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings,” one person shared on X.
The criticism continued: “I purchased your coin $HAWK that you were so excited about with my life savings and my children’s college education fund as well.”
“You didn’t mention that you were going to buy 97% of the supply and sell it almost immediately to make a large profit.”
Some have gone as far as demanding serious consequences for Welch.
“Haliey Welch, you’re going to f***ing jail,” one person posted.
Another person echoed the sentiment, writing: “Hailey, I’m not even kidding when I say this, you are most likely going to prison.”
In response, Welch’s team addressed the allegations on X, stating: “Team hasn’t sold one token and not 1 KOL was given 1 free token. We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fees at the start of launch on @MeteoraAG. Fees have now been dropped.”
OverHere, a platform involved with $HAWK, echoed this defense, stating: “Haliey’s Team has sold absolutely no tokens whatsoever. Haliey’s Team has a 10% allocation, which is locked for 1 year and vested over 3 years. The rest of the tokens are distributed into different wallets as per the tokenomics.”
In a statement to Fortune before the coin’s launch, Welch denied that $HAWK was a “cash grab,” explaining that the venture was meant to engage with her fanbase.
“Crypto is a good way to interact with my fans,” Welch said, revealing that her interest in the market was sparked by rapper Lil Pump.
