From $500 mn to $25 mn market cap: The shocking story of TikTok star Hailey Welch who launched $HAWK memecoin

Hailey Welch, a popular American social media personality also known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” gained major internet fame in June 2024. However, she is now embroiled in a significant controversy after the memecoin she launched crashed shortly after its debut, wiping out nearly half a billion dollars of investors’ money.

Amid calls for her arrest, a Twitter user took to X to explain the controversy in detail.

The user, @0xDarya_, wrote that Hailey launched the $HAWK memecoin and urged her fans to invest $50 million.

For those unfamiliar with the “Hawk Tuah Girl,” Hailey Welch became an internet sensation after a viral moment where she mimicked the sound of spitting using the phrase “hawk tuah.” This moment turned the 22-year-old from Belfast, Tennessee, into an overnight celebrity.

Following a brief TikTok interview, Hailey’s fame skyrocketed. She began collaborating with top celebrities, launched the popular Talk Tuah podcast—ranking as the 5th most popular podcast globally—and sold out her Hawk Tuah Vocal Pack daily, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Hailey Welch quickly capitalized on her viral fame, transforming it into a profitable venture,” the X user wrote. “She earned up to $30,000 per night by attending exclusive parties and made substantial profits from her ‘Hawk Tuah’ merchandise.”
But Hailey wanted more. She decided to launch her own token, which marked the beginning of the $HAWK controversy.

The memecoin debuted on the Solana blockchain and initially skyrocketed to a $500 million market cap. However, its value plummeted by 95%, dropping to just $25 million.

“Simple math shows that those who bought at the peak suffered a 95% loss in just a few minutes,” the X user noted.

Hailey responded to the rug pull accusations, sharing the $HAWK tokenomics and insisting that the team hadn’t sold any tokens. She claimed that only 10% of the token supply was allocated to the team, with a 12-month lock and a 3-year vesting period.

“But as the price plummeted, it became obvious this was a lie. Even investors couldn’t dump the token so aggressively,” the X user added.

Blockchain data analyst Bubblemaps revealed that 96% of $HAWK tokens were concentrated in a single cluster of related wallets, indicating high coordination in the transactions.

Welch denied any wrongdoing and, along with her team, appeared in an X Spaces audio event to address the allegations. However, they were cornered by investors accusing her of scamming her fans, many of whom were new to crypto.

Several YouTubers analyzed the situation, explaining how Hailey Welch allegedly scammed her followers. Her attorney claimed there was no intention to defraud fans.

Crypto investigator Stephen Findeisen, known for his Coffeezilla YouTube channel, revealed that Hailey Welch had been paid a $125,000 advance by an unspecified company to market the token. She was also entitled to receive 50% of the net proceeds after covering third-party expenses and development costs.

“This is one of the most miserable, horrible launches I’ve ever seen in my life,” Findeisen said. “They sold 17% of tokens to insiders without a lock-up period while only releasing 3% to the public for trading.”