Haliey Welch, a viral internet personality known as Hawk Tuah Girl, finds herself embroiled in controversy following the launch of her memecoin HAWK on the Solana blockchain.
The token’s rapid rise and fall has drawn heavy criticism from the crypto community, with accusations of unethical practices potentially attracting the attention of regulators.
Memecoin HAWK
On December 4, the memecoin debuted on the Solana blockchain to great success and, within minutes, reached a market capitalization of $500 million, only to drop to $60 million shortly after.
This volatile performance infuriated many investors as speculation grew that the token may have been designed for a pump and dump scheme, a tactic in which malicious developers take advantage of artificially inflated prices before abandoning the project .
Blockchain analysis using Bubblemaps showed more details on the HAWK launch. According to the company, almost 96% of the token supply was allegedly controlled by internal wallets. Such concentrated holdings are often associated with market manipulation, further fueling skepticism about the legitimacy of the token.
In an X Spaces hosted by the project team, on-chain investigator Coffeezilla slammed Welch and his team for insider trading. He declared:
“You generated over a million dollars in fees while your fans were getting shot. There were snipers, but there was also insider trading directly linked to your creator accounts.
HAWK’s situation is reminiscent of past celebrity token launches on Solana that failed. Earlier this year, several artists and influencers issued tokens during a brief trend, but many of them the assets lost almost all their value in a matter of hours and days.
Critics say the HAWK token has followed a similar trajectory, highlighting the risks of investing in unproven celebrity-endorsed tokens.
Legal consequences
The token’s collapse sparked outrage on social media, with some users reporting the incident to regulators.
At the same time, several investors claim to have filed complaints with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while law firms offer legal assistance to those who have suffered losses. One firm, Burwick Law, publicly stated encouraged concerned parties to come forward and explore their options for recourse.
To add to the uproar, members of the crypto community created a satirical token called “Tuah Prison“, insinuating that Welch should be held responsible for the token’s failure. These developments suggest potential legal challenges for Welch and his team soon.
Welch’s response
In his defense, Welch denied any wrongdoing in a December 5 post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that his team had not sold tokens and that no influential figures had received free allocations.
Welch explained that they launched HAWK using Meteora, a decentralized liquidity protocol, to deter snipers. She wrote:
“The team did not sell a single token and not one KOL received a free token. We tried to stop the snipers as best we could through high fees at the start of the launch. “
Over Here, a platform collaborating with Welch on the launch, echoes his statements. They clarified that tokenomics was designed with transparency and that Welch’s team did not sell any tokens.
They also noted that its team’s 10% token allocation is locked for one year and subject to a three-year vesting schedule.
Despite these assurances, the controversy raises questions about the risks associated with celebrity-backed crypto projects.