On December 4, 2024, influencer Haliey Welch, known as Hawk Tuah Girl, launched her meme coin, $HAWK, which skyrocketed to a $500 million valuation before crashing to $60 million in just 20 minutes. Accused of a rug pull scam, Welch faced backlash after blockchain data revealed 96% of the coin's supply was held by 10 wallets. Despite denying insider trading and blaming "sniping," Welch's explanations failed to convince critics. Memes like "Rug Tuah" and "Jail Tuah" went viral, cementing $HAWK as a cautionary tale about crypto and influencer projects.
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FunTranscript
00:00My Hawk meme coin is live!
00:02On December 4th, 2024, Hayley Welch, better known as Hawk to a girl,
00:06launched her own meme coin, HawkCoin, on the Solana blockchain.
00:09Within minutes, the coin skyrocketed to a $500 million valuation.
00:13But in a shocking turn of events, or maybe not so shocking,
00:16it crashed to $60 million just 20 minutes later.
00:19The internet immediately erupted with accusations of a rug pull.
00:22A scam where developers withdraw liquidity, leaving investors with worthless tokens.
00:27Blockchain data revealed that 96% of HawkCoin's supply was held by just 10 wallets,
00:31fueling suspicions of insider trading and foul play.
00:34Raise my hand.
00:35What coffee, Zilla?
00:37Hey, this is one of the most miserable, horrible launches I've ever seen in my life.
00:42Okay, then why the f*** are you on?
00:44Hayley quickly took to X to defend herself,
00:46claiming that her team hadn't sold a single token.
00:49She blamed, quote, sniping, where early buyers manipulate prices for personal gain,
00:53and said they had implemented high fees to deter such behavior.
00:56Critics weren't convinced.
00:57One viral tweet from a user lamented losing $20,000 on HawkCoin,
01:01while another, more dramatic post claimed,
01:03You took my life savings.
01:05Memes poured in branding the scandal with phrases like
01:07Rugtua and Hawkonomics gone wrong.
01:10In a press release, Welch's manager described HawkCoin as a fun,
01:13secure, and innovative way to connect with her fans.
01:15Welch herself insisted the project wasn't a cash grab,
01:18but admitted she didn't know of any specific perks for token holders.
01:22The backlash was fierce,
01:23with blockchain sleuths pointing out how centralized the token supply was.
01:26Welch and her team claimed no influencers were given free tokens,
01:29and no insiders sold at launch.
01:31But the damage to her reputation was already done.
01:33The situation worsened when Hayley hosted an X space to address the scandal.
01:37Crypto investigator CoffeeZilla joined the session,
01:40pressing Welch on allegations of scamming millions.
01:42Her response?
01:43HawkCoin was meant to be a fun, community-driven project.
01:46Meanwhile, users on Reddit and X continued dissecting the situation.
01:49One viral post read,
01:50Despite her insistence that no tokens were sold by her team,
02:03blockchain data and the rapid collapse of HawkCoin have left many unconvinced.
02:06Critics argue that Welch's lack of understanding
02:08about her own project is proof of either incompetence or deception.
02:12What started as a quirky way to connect with fans turned into a cautionary tale
02:16about meme coins, influencer-led projects, and the unpredictable chaos of cryptocurrency.
02:20She should have taken notes from her last podcast, curiously titled,
02:23How to Avoid Getting Cancelled.
02:25We're all curious to, uh, see how this all plays out.