On-chain investigator Coffeezilla recently accused influencer Hailey Welch and the HAWK memecoin team of scamming her fans with their recent token launch. The team faces backlash because the cryptocurrency nosedived 94% just over 12 hours after launching, leaving investors empty-handed.
The Rise And Fall Of The HAWK Memecoin
On Wednesday night, the crypto community slammed Hailey Welch, popularly known as the ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl, for her HAWK (HAWK) memecoin launch. The meme became popular after a 10-second clip of her saying the catchphrase went viral earlier this year.
Since then, the now social media influencer has gained a large following and launched different projects, including a dating advice app and the Talk Tuah Podcast. In October, Welch shared an edit of herself with various memecoin references like dogwifhat’s hat, Mog Coin’s glasses, and the SPX6900 coin as a necklace.
The post stated, “Gm X, I heard it’s a meme super cycle,” and sparked speculation about the possible launch of an official Hawk Tuah-themed memecoin. However, the crypto community expressed concern about the potential launch, forecasting another celebrity rug-pull in advance.
On November 26, Welch announced her partnership with the Web3 platform overHere to launch the official HAWK memecoin on December 4, claiming it was not “just another token launch” and “set to redefine the crypto space.”
As the token went live on Wednesday afternoon, its market capitalization quickly surged to an impressive $500 million but plummeted 88% in minutes. The top holders dumped their tokens as the price peaked, sending the memecoin into a massive nosedive.
HAWK's market cap plummets in minutes. Source: Dexscreener
Another Influencer Crypto Scam?
As soon as the token crashed, crypto investors, market watchers, and on-chain investigators called out Welch and the HAWK team, accusing them of insider trading and rug-pulling investors; many buyers were Welch’s fans, who appear to be new to the crypto space.
Amid the backlash, the influencer shared the token’s “Hawkanomics,” revealing that only 2% of its supply was set for “Free Public allocation.” Meanwhile, 17% was set as part of a “strategic allocation,” fully unlocked by launch and allegedly sent to insider wallets.
Welch shares "Hawkanomics" after backlash. Source: Hailey Welch on X
Bubblemaps data on Dexscreener shows that a cluster of related wallets controlled around 80% of the memecoin’s supply. Despite Welch’s claim to have tried “their best” to stop snippers, several addresses mass-bought the memecoin.
One address managed to snipe 17.5% of the supply at launch, selling it for around $1.3 million in profits shortly after. Meanwhile, crypto investors and Welch’s fans claimed to have lost thousands of dollars in just ten minutes with the token.
The influencer and the HAWK team denied the insider trading accusation, claiming to have not sold any tokens, but on-chain data seems to suggest otherwise. On Wednesday night, YouTuber and Internet investigator Coffeezilla confronted the memecoin’s team in an X Space.
He questioned the team about the over $1 million in fees generated from the token “while fans got rug-pulled.” The investigator also suggested that the massive sell-off wasn’t primarily due to snipers but instead related to insider trading “directly linked to the creator’s account.”
The team interrupted Coffeezilla and denied the allegations, stating that they would not rug fans “for 50K.” overHere also revealed that they created a Foundation for the project in the Cayman Islands, which required significant funding.
Coffeezilla called the launch the “most horrible” launch and claimed that these were “the worst tokenomics” he’s seen among all the projects he has reviewed, adding that it was a scam.
He further asked where the money from the pre-sale, valued at around $16.69 million, went and the reason for their tokenomics. However, the team silenced his microphone and failed to offer clear answers.
Ultimately, Welch announced she was “going to sleep” after being asked how much they were paid from the token. As of this writing, the HAWK memecoin has dropped over 94% from its peak, currently having a $30 million market cap.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $3.6 trillion in the one-day chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView.
