Internet personality Hailey Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah” girl, recently addressed the HAWK memecoin scam after two months. The influencer finally “woke up” after going “to sleep” following the crash of her token, which left most crypto investors empty-handed.
‘Hawk Tuah’ Girl Finally Wakes Up
On Thursday, influencer Hailey Welch broke her silence about the controversial launch of the Hawk Tuah (HAWK) memecoin. After nearly two months since her last statement, Welch released a now-deleted comeback episode of her podcast addressing the December crypto scam.
Influencer FaZe Banks, DeGods creator Frank, content creator Threadguy, and Welch’s lawyer Christian Barker joined her on the “Talk Tuah” episode to discuss what happened with the token.
Threadguy, Hailey Welch, FaZe Banks, and Frank during the podcast recording. Source: Faze Banks on X
The HAWK memecoin was launched on December 4, 2024, in partnership with Web3 platform overHere. The project was presented as not “just another token launch,” aiming to “redefine the crypto space” instead.
The cryptocurrency quickly rose and fell, hitting an impressive $500 million market capitalization before plummeting 90% a few hours after launching. On-chain data showed that a cluster of wallets controlled 80% of the supply, and snipers mass-bought the token seconds after the launch.
Additionally, pre-sale buyers started to dump their tokens, sending the memecoin’s price into a nosedive just as it had taken off. As a result, the crypto community called out the influencer and her team, accusing them of rug-pulling investors and insider trading.
In an X Space, the HAWK memecoin’s team was confronted by several community figures but didn’t offer a satisfactory answer. Later, the influencer announced she was “going to sleep” and ended the Space, disappearing from the Internet for nearly two months.
Yesterday, the influencer addressed her disappearance at the start of the now-deleted podcast episode, stating, “It was a very long nap.”
Welch Says She Has ‘No Idea About Crypto’
During the Talk Tuah episode, Welch affirmed that she has no knowledge about crypto but entered the space after a “friend of a friend” introduced her to the project. The person, who allegedly has many connections in LA, told the influencer and her team that the project was “going to change the way everybody thinks of crypto.”
She claims her team was told it was “supposed to be more like a long-term coin” and “done in the right way.” Moreover, the money she made from the project would allegedly go to her charity, which seemingly inclined her to accept.
Her lawyer explained that the deal was a “brand image likeness” deal and they had no part in the tokenomics or development of the token. Welch was paid $125,000 upfront to promote the memecoin and was promised another $200,000 within 30 days after the launch.
Additionally, she was supposed to receive a 10% allocation of the HAWK memecoin supply, with a 1-year lockup period, and get 5% of the locked tokens. However, her lawyer claims that the tokenomics continued changing throughout the process, and after the launch, adding that she never received the second payment.
They also clarified that they don’t know who the developer is as it wasn’t disclosed to them. It’s worth noting that, on December 20, Welch shared on X that she was “fully cooperating with and committed to assisting the legal team representing the individuals impacted” to uncover “the truth” to hold accountable those responsible for the scam.
Nonetheless, the controversy continued after FaZe Banks called out Welch and her team for allegedly leaking and inside trading the memecoin.
Banks stated that her team released the episode without his approval, as he had “heavy stipulations” to agree and release the podcast, including “not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episode’s existence before a resolution was found.”
Yesterday, HAWK saw a 291% increase around the podcast’s release but fell back to its previous levels in the following hours. “The price of HAWK is pumping and they completely fucking fumbled the bag, yet again. What a fucking mess. Poor girl, it’s a wonder how she found herself in this position in the first place,” Banks concluded.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $3.15 trillion in the one-week chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView
