Hawk Tuah Girl Accused Of ‘Crypto Scam’ After Meme Coin Crash, Faces Potential Lawsuits

Hailey Welch, popularly known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” faced backlash following the catastrophic launch of her $HAWK memecoin on Wednesday. Many investors suffered large losses as the cryptocurrency plummeted to $60 million in just 20 minutes after first rising to $500 million. Welch and her crew were accused of planning a cryptocurrency fraud, and there were allegations of a “rug pull” and a “pump-and-dump” scheme.

Many of the 21-year-old influencer’s large follower base allegedly made their first forays into the cryptocurrency market after she marketed the token to them. The token’s explosive initial climb was swiftly followed by a precipitous drop, losing more than 94% of its value in just 12 hours. Unsettling trends seen in on-chain data strengthened the charges against Welch and her group.

Insider trading and wallet manipulation were among the questionable activities that investigators, including well-known YouTuber Coffeezilla, brought to light. According to data from Bubblemaps listed by the Bitcoinist, almost 80% of the token’s supply was held by a group of connected wallets. Prior to the crash, one wallet reportedly made an estimated $1.3 million in earnings by sniping 17.5% of the whole supply at launch.

After Welch made public the token’s allocation information, known as “Hawkanomics,” the dispute grew more intense. Only 2% of $HAWK’s entire supply, according to the Bitcoinist, was set aside for free public distribution. On the other hand, 17% of the supply was designated for “strategic allocation,” which was purportedly transferred to insider wallets after being completely unlocked at launch. These allocations, according to critics, enabled quick sell-offs and aided in the token’s demise.

Welch and her staff denied any misconduct in the face of growing accusations. They asserted that throughout the launch, no team members nor key opinion leaders (KOLs) sold tokens. Welch said that large costs were initially set to discourage sniper bots but were subsequently lowered.

“Team hasn’t sold one token, and not one KOL was given any free token,” Welch tweeted on Wednesday, also quoted by UNILAD. On-chain investigators, however, brought up information that suggested differently, which prompted more investigation.

Social media was inundated with fury about the repercussions. Many of Welch’s supporters who made investments in $HAWK reported suffering significant losses in a matter of minutes. The influencer was accused by some of abusing the trust of her followers for her own benefit.

During a live debate on X, previously Twitter, Coffeezilla confronted Welch and her crew and demanded responsibility for the token’s demise. The influencer justified the incident by claiming that measures were taken to stop abusive trading during the launch.

Blockchain experts and traders alike were quick to express their indignation, according to the Mens Journal, with several accusing Welch of manipulating marketing and threatening the influencer with legal action. On social media, some people called the memecoin a complete hoax, while others said they had alerted security authorities. In an attempt to recruit clients for a possible lawsuit, one legal firm that represents token investors and NFT even started contacting people.