The launch of the HAWK token by Haliey Welch, also known as the “Hawk Tuah girl,” has indeed caused quite a stir. The controversy erupted when it was revealed that 97% of the token supply was initially held back, leading to accusations of insider trading and market manipulation.
Welch teased the launch in late November, mentioning possibly launching a memecoin on her podcast when interviewing businessman Mark Cuban, and sharing a thread on X (formerly Twitter) from a company called overHere, who said it was launching the token on her behalf.
$HAWK isn’t just a Meme Coin, it’s a part of the culture,” reads the token’s description on overHere’s site. “Haliey is using her meme to unite her entire community. From: TikTok, Talk Tuah podcast listeners, merchandise buyers, and even her charity supporters. Hundreds of thousands of non-crypto users will be onboarded by $HAWK because Haliey is making it easy, fun, and engaging. If you love Haliey, you love memes. And $HAWK is where it all comes together.
Here are some key points:
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Initial Surge and Crash: The HAWK token saw a meteoric rise to a market cap of nearly $500 million shortly after its launch, only to crash by over 90% within hours.
Community Outrage: Many investors felt misled and accused Welch and her team of unethical practices, including holding back a significant portion of the token supply. Shortly after $HAWK launched; Welch’s X post was quickly hit with a Community Note warning that 96 percent of the token’s supply appeared to be owned by just 10 connected wallets. Wallets are anonymous (at least to an extent), but when such a large percentage of one token is owned by so few, the risks are obvious — if these people start selling, the token’s value can plummet.
Denials and Defense: Welch has denied any wrongdoing, stating that her team did not sell any tokens and blaming the crash on “snipers” who exploited the launch. Many investors felt misled and accused Welch and her team of unethical practices, including holding back a significant portion of the token supply.
On the same day, Redditor [u/ViscountBurrito posted a screenshot from X to the r/BrandNewSentence Subreddit, writing the peculiar phrase “I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah, but you took my life savings” inside the X user’s tweet about losing $35,000 of their life savings to the $HAWK token. The post had 9,200 upvotes and 1,100 comments in a day.
Critics allege that Welch and her team held back 97% of the token supply and started selling immediately upon launch, which contributed to the rapid decline in value, the incident has led to significant backlash from the community, with many investors feeling misled and accusing Welch of unethical practices.
The $HAWK token’s launch sparked outrage online, especially on X and Reddit, where netizens who had purchased the meme coin posted about their losses over the coin’s liquidity. For instance, on December 4th, 2024, X user @ashrobinqt posted a video commenting on the $HAWK rug pull scandal, writing “I’m down around $20,000 right now on the $HAWK token.” The video received more than 406,000 plays and 1,400 likes in a day.
The incident has sparked a broader discussion about the risks and ethics of meme coins and influencer-led crypto projects. What are your thoughts on this situation?