Online influencer and viral social media celebrity Hailey Welch’s token Hawk Tuah ($HAWK) witnessed a pump & dump immediately after the release, surging to $500 million and then falling to $60 million. Various web3 users complained that she cheated the investors by creating a scam coin while others opined that anonymous traders must have done sniping.
This article will try to figure out what exactly happened to the HAWK token, by covering the incidents from the viral video of Hailey Welch to the recent legal troubles. We will get into the origin of Hawk Tuah, explore the reasons behind the pump and dump, and provide safety tips for future investors.
Who Is Hailey Welch? The Hawk Tuah Girl
Hailey Welch achieved fame around the internet through a viral “Hawk Tuah” video, which was first posted on the YouTube channel Tim & Dee TV. When a host of the channel asked Hailey the intimate question “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?”, she replied in a weird Southern accent, “You gotta give ’em that ‘Hawk Tuah.”
When the trimmed clip where she says Hawk Tuah went viral on TikTok, Haily received many followers. It immediately was taken by the meme communities where they remixed and re-created, reaching a global audience and giving her the name the Hawk Tuah Girl.
What Is Hawk Tuah Crypto?
After the clip went viral, Hawk Tuah, widely recognized as a memecoin, was launched through the Solana blockchain on 4th December 2024. It was officially backed by Hailey, with an aim to connect with her fans. She promoted it through her X and TikTok handles just after the creation. After the launch, it immediately got investors.
What Went Wrong With HAWK?
When the coin was launched, it instantly started getting investments and went to a market cap of around 500 million dollars. However, after raising 90% of its value, it crashed immediately, draining all the funds. Various accusations were made against Hailey pointing out that a market manipulation has happened.
A reason for the crash, as hypothesized by crypto experts, is sniping. The anonymous traders might have used sniper bots to execute faster transactions to take advantage of the newly launched token. Usually, sniping involves three key steps: monitoring, analysis, and execution. These traders must have been monitoring new Solana-based coins to find a perfect opportunity to step in. With the arrival of Hailey’s crypto at the right time, they must have executed the plan.
Will Hailey Welch Be Arrested?
There are FOMO investors who lost millions of dollars, and probably we will see someone filing a case soon. A firm named Burwick Law has come forward to legally help the traders who experienced any losses. According to Hailey Welch, only 10% of the token supply was allocated to her, and she didn’t sell a single one. The chances of her going to jail are low, however, various social media users voted to put her in jail.
Final Thoughts: How To Secure Your Funds?
Experts pointed out that the coin has one of the worst tokenomics ever, where 70% of the token allocation was unlocked upon the launch itself. The FOMO and the social media celebrity craze must have triggered the investment urge among the vulnerable traders. As usual, the best way to avoid these traps is to train your mind to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good.
In the world of a market like crypto, you are solely responsible for your funds. No one else will save your money. Always do your own research before investing in coins, especially the viral ones.
Read the whitepaper, go through docs & blogs, engage with the coin’s community, study tokenomics, get into the historical data, and contact the previous investors for first-hand experiences, before investing your hard-earned funds. DYOR!
