Haliey Welch, better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” rose to fame in mid-2024 with her viral life advice videos. But her internet stardom took a dark turn when she became involved in one of the most notorious cryptocurrency scams of the year, centered around her memecoin, HAWK.

The Launch of HAWK 🚀

In December 2024, Welch leveraged her massive online following to launch HAWK on the Solana blockchain. Her fans, trusting her vision, flocked to the token, causing its value to skyrocket. Within days, HAWK reached an astonishing market cap of nearly $500 million, fueling dreams of quick wealth among early investors.

The Collapse 💔

The dream unraveled just as quickly. By mid-December, HAWK had lost 90% of its value, leaving thousands of investors in financial ruin. The token was exposed as a classic pump-and-dump scheme, with its creators profiting at the expense of trusting followers.

The Fallout

• Investors accused the $HAWK team of selling unregistered securities.

• Welch faced severe backlash for using her influence to promote the token.

• A class-action lawsuit targeted the development team, though Welch herself was not named.

While Welch was not directly implicated, her heavy promotion of $HAWK drew harsh criticism. Many argued her endorsement played a key role in the token’s initial success—and its subsequent collapse.

A Disastrous Response 🎙️

In an attempt to defend herself, Welch joined a Twitter Space, where crypto investigator coffeebreak_YT presented damning evidence of team members withdrawing funds in real-time. Welch abruptly ended the session, claiming she was “too tired,” further damaging her credibility.

Welch’s Statement

Later, Welch tweeted:

“I am fully cooperating with and am committed to assisting the legal team representing the individuals impacted, as well as to help uncover the truth, hold the responsible parties accountable, and resolve this matter. If you have experienced losses related to this, please contact Burwick Law.”

However, evidence from platforms Bubblemaps and Dexscreener, as reported by Coin Telegraph, revealed that 80-90% of HAWK’s supply at launch was controlled by insider wallets and “snipers.”

One buyer’s wallet, for instance, sniped HAWK seconds after its launch, purchasing 17.5% of the total supply for approximately $993,000. This same wallet later sold 135.8 million tokens, turning a profit of $1.3 million.

Lessons from the $HAWK Saga

Haliey Welch’s rise and fall serve as a critical lesson for crypto enthusiasts:

• DYOR (Do Your Own Research) before investing.

• Be cautious of celebrity-endorsed coins. 🌟

• Only invest what you can afford to lose.

The HAWK debacle is a stark reminder: Will you chase hype or craft a sound investment strategy? The choice is yours.

Yours sincerely,

TWS