Market Data 
- $HAWK coin plummeted by 95% within hours, dropping from a $500M to $25M market cap.
- Haliey Welch’s $HAWK faced SEC complaints over alleged insider trading.
- Welch denies selling any $HAWK tokens amidst accusations and investor backlash.
Haliey Welch, whose TikTok account is known for the ‘Hawk Tuah’ video, has recently launched her cryptocurrency, $HAWK, on the SOLANA blockchain. The launch, however, turned out exceedingly disastrous as the value of the newly created coin fell by 95% within hours, leading to controversy. Launching at $500M in market capitalization, it lost to $25M, leading to investor losses. Some technical violations, like allegations of insider trading, emerged, and the SEC raised complaints against Welch, which she has dismissed.
The high speed of devaluation and reaction after it has been made has led to doubts about the execution and transparency of the project. Nevertheless, Welch and her team claim that they have never sold any tokens and have been addressing the problem of sniper bots that negatively influence the coin’s market. The case outlines the high risks associated with memecoins, which mostly exist based on social media trends.
This is a Hawk Tuah girl, and recently she stole $50M from her fans!
She launched a $HAWK coin and rugged it within 2 days
In ATH it reached $480M and then went to $0 and she acts like nothing happened
Here’s the full story on how Hawk Tuah stole $50M🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/DVDC27mXNs
— symbiote (@cryptosymbiiote) December 6, 2024
Investor Backlash and SEC Involvement
The events connected with $HAWK also drew the attention of investors and regulators. Many investors have reported their complaints to the SEC, which hints at signs of fraudulent actions known as a rug pull. This term relates to situations where crypto developers can use large amounts of money from the public to pump up the value of the project and then dump the coin.
However, Welch’s team has shared their transaction records on social media and denied sabotaging the coin by claiming they are working to make it more stable for the community. Such steps have not been enough to deter value reduction and allegations of mismanagement, which remain the topics of discussion in the crypto space.
Meanwhile, the general prospects for memecoins remain a problem for financiers and regulators to solve as the situation develops. Tokens such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu often have huge volatility, and thus, they represent significant risks to investors.
Welch’s team strategy aims to restore investors’ confidence and stabilize the market. However, the social pressure from the SEC and the cryptocurrency community might present difficulties.
