By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-05 23:46:45 | Updated at 2024-12-22 11:29:26
2 weeks ago
Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch is in hot water with the crypto community.
The viral star, 22, attempted to cash in on her viral fame by launching her own meme coin called $HAWK this week, but some of her fans are feeling shortchanged by the venture.
Memecoins are types of cryptocurrency inspired by viral internet memes. They originally started out as a joke and were used for entertainment purposes, but have now ballooned in value in recent years.
Welch's $HAWK coin peaked at a market capitalization of $490 million shortly after its launch on Wednesday, before plummeting to 91 per cent within three hours, according to CoinTelegraph.
The coin's extreme and sudden downturn has sparked major backlash towards Welch from her own fanbase along with many in the online crypto community.
There's now speculation on social media that the coin's decline may be due to crypo 'snipers.'
A sniper is a term used to describe a trader or investor in the cryptocurrency market who employs quick and precise actions to capitalize on profitable opportunities.
They often buy up vast quantities of a new token at launch and then sell just as quickly to maximize profit.
Hawk Tuah star Haliey Welch is getting backlash after launching her own memecoin
As a result, some commentators have speculated that the coins were snapped up by insiders at a low price, then heavily promoted to inflate their value before being sold for a profit.
According to Dexscreener data cited by leading cryptocurrency website Coinspeaker, 80 to 90 per cent of $HAWK’s initial supply was controlled by insider wallets and snipers.
Data from Solscanner shows that one wallet managed to snatch 17.5 per cent of the $HAWK supply just seconds after its launch, and in the following 90 minutes, was able to sell it off and make a profit of $1.3 million.
There’s also speculation surrounding the money from high transaction fees.
Welch's team released a statement on X on Wednesday claiming that they tried to stop snipers.
'Team hasn’t sold one token and not one [key opinion leader] was given one free token. We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high [fees] in the start of launch on @MeteoraAG. Fees have now been dropped,' they said.
OverHere, a platform that represents the $HAWK coin, also put out a statement on X.
'Haliey's Team has sold absolutely no tokens whatsoever. Haliey's Team has 10% allocation which is locked for 1 year and vested over 3 years,' they wrote.
The coin's extreme and sudden downturn has sparked major backlash towards Welch from her own fanbase along with many in the online crypto community
Social media has had a field day with Welch's cryptocurrency scandal
'The rest of the tokens are distributed into the different wallets as according to the tokenomics.'
This hasn't stopped furious fans and investors alike from blasting Welch on social media.
'You really messed up with that pump and dump meme coin,' one wrote.
'i'm sorry, but anyone who took financial cues from the HAWK TUAH GIRL deserves the they took,' another wrote.
'If you bought hawk tuah coin you shouldn’t be allowed to vote,' a third commented.
New York-based law firm Burwick Law, who specialize in cases around NFTs and tokens, have already put out a call for potential clients regarded to the $HAWK coin scandal.
'If you lost money on $HAWK, contact our firm to learn about your legal rights,' they posted on X.
DailyMail.com has contacted Welch's management for comment.
Speaking to Fortune before the memecoin launch, Welch insisted that the venture was 'not just a cash grab.'
She also said that crypto was 'a good way to interact with my fans' and that she'd become interested in it through rapper Lil Pump.
Welch first showed interest in crypto back in September, when she bizarrely appeared as a keynote speaker at the Forbes Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul, South Korea.
The Tennessee-born blonde skyrocketed to fame in June after a clip of her giving a humorous sex tip during a street interview in Nashville went viral.
She has since amassed millions of followers on social media and launched a successful merchandise line.
Her Talk Tuah podcast has also become one of the most popular in the country, and at one point was ranked third in the US behind Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.
Guests on the podcast have so far included comedians like Hannah Berner and Whitney Cummings, pop star JoJo Siwa, and entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
