In the year of our Lord 2024, Internet personalities always I think launching cryptocurrencies is a good idea – and Haliey Welch, aka “Hawk Tuah Girl,” is the latest offender. But is anyone really surprised?
I don’t think I have the courage to explain the origins of the “Hawk Tuah” meme again, but all you need to know is that I blame this situation on one thing, and one thing only: podcast mics. For context’s sake, know that this is twenty-something Haliey Welch and an X-rated joke she made during an interview on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, during the summer. Since then, the clip has been reposted, edited, and memorized so many times that I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up on your grandmother’s Facebook page. I would say that “Hawk Tuah” memes are like kicking a dead horse, but even the horse is gone now.
The 18-second TikTok had a rather unfortunate domino effect that led us to the launch of its memecoin, HAWK. And unsurprisingly, his deployment was riddled with accusations of insider trading and “rug pulling.”
Disastrous HAWK launch sparks damning accusations of pump-and-dump
If 2024 hasn’t already proven to you that we’re living in the worst of times, HAWK has come to set things right once and for all. By The Independent, the memecoin, which refers to a cryptocurrency inspired by memes or internet trends (i.e. Dogecoin)launched on the Solana blockchain earlier this week, only to soar over 900% to a market cap of $490 million before collapsing to just $60 million.
Trendy coin launches like HAWK tend to attract the attention of “snipers,” i.e. bots that leverage blockchain technology to purchase large amounts of cryptocurrencies in the hope of reselling these tokens at record prices. These snipers acquired “between 80 and 90 percent of HAWK’s supply” before reselling it hours later at incredibly high profits, driving down its market price. Often, it is the investors who work behind the scenes to inflate the value, which many…including YouTuber Coffeezilla– are now accusing HAWK of doing so. Suffice it to say, this doesn’t seem too hot for Welch and the future of his brand.
We just can’t learn the lesson when it comes to crypto, can we?
Dare I say it was sort of… inevitable? The idea that Haliey Welch would jump into the crypto game after becoming a social media superstar is hardly a shock. I mean, let’s break down the stats here: fully soaking up his 15 minutes of fame, Welch launched a AI-powered dating applaunched a podcast, released a Hawk Tuah-themed film range of products at Spirit Halloweenand now finds himself embroiled in controversy over a questionable crypto project, all in the span of five months.
Plus, she’s far from the first internet personality to think launching a cryptocurrency was a good idea. Famous, Logan Paul (friend of Speak Tuah podcast) found itself embroiled in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in 2021 after its online NFT game, CryptoZoo, left players empty-handed when the market price of zoo tokens collapsed, as reported by TIME. This is a classic example of the old pump-and-dump system that the crypto world knows all too well.
So while Welch was probably the victim of bad advice, she probably I should have known better what to say Fortune that HAWK is “not just about raising money” and that it’s “a fun way to get my fans to interact.” I think I’ve seen this movie before…
As of now, Welch and his team have yet to release an official statement regarding HAWK, but the woman in question still insists they did nothing wrong. On could thanks to high (fees) at the start of the launch on @ MétéoraAG. However, it may be too little, too late for those who subsequently lost hundreds of thousands of dollars – the community rating of the post speaks for itself.
It will be interesting to see what happens to HAWK in the wake of this uncontested mess, but regardless, Welch is stuck for the next year until she can sell her tokens. Regardless, the memes that have come out of this whole ordeal are extremely entertaining, so I for one am grabbing a bowl of popcorn and waiting to see how this Thang plays out.