Haliey Welch, known more endearingly as the Hawk Tuah girl, saw her meme coin skyrocket and crash just 20 minutes post-launch.
Upon launching, Hawk Tuah gained instant popularity, reaching a market capitalization of half a billion, but the joy was short-lived.
Hailey Welch Faces Backlash Over Hawk Tuah Crash
Welch rose to fame earlier this year for her viral spitting clip and has since hopped on the bandwagon and established a fanbase on TikTok. The influencer entered the crypto market with the launch of her own meme coin. However, what started as a promising venture quickly turned chaotic.
Hawk Tuah surged to a $500 million market capitalization within minutes of its launch, attracting attention across the board. The token’s price peaked at $0.00004028, climbing from its launch price of $0.000007099.
Yet, the euphoria didn’t last. Within just 20 minutes, its market cap plummeted to $60 million, sparking outrage and confusion among investors. Accusations of insider trading quickly surfaced.
Welch denied all allegations, yet the data says that 96% of her total token supply is in top wallets. She promptly took to X to clear up the issue, saying:
“Hawkanomics: 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 fee’s in the start of launch on @MeteoraAG. Fees have now been dropped,” she said.
The Crypto Community Responds
Her statement did little to assuage concerns of a rug pull. One trader has even filed a report against Welch, and took to X to encourage others to do the same. As of yet, the outcome remains ominous.
The Hawk Tuah saga has elicited mixed reactions from the community. In response, users found the whole ordeal equal parts criminal and laughable.
“It’s a nice pattern on the maps tho lol,” joked one user.
Some users have even rushed to Welch’s defense. Arguing that it’s highly likely the new influencer has little technical knowledge of the situation, Welch could have been exploited by her management.
“She’s obviously just the front of a larger group of entities who are using her to extract maximum value. c’mon, lets be real. The girl didn’t even know what crypto was just a short while ago,” one user chimed in.
The Hawk Tuah incident highlights the dual nature of meme coins. They are both opportunities for community-driven innovation and cautionary tales of speculative chaos, especially when led by influencers.
Other celebrities who have faced the same accusations include Caitlyn Jenner, Jason Derulo, Andrew Tate, Iggy Azalea, and YouTuber Mr. Beast. Whether Welch can salvage the token’s reputation or it becomes another footnote in the history of failed meme coins remains to be seen.
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