Haliey Welch, also known as the Hawk Tuah girl, is under intense scrutiny after a YouTube investigator, Stephen “Coffeezilla,” exposed alleged unethical practices surrounding the launch of her $HAWK meme coin. The coin, which debuted on the Solana blockchain on December 4, 2024, saw a massive drop in value just minutes after its release, sparking outrage among investors.
The $HAWK coin started with a value of $500 million, but within 20 minutes, its worth plummeted to only $60 million. This dramatic decline led many to suspect that the creators had orchestrated a "rug pull"—a scam where the coin's developers dump their holdings for profit, leaving investors with worthless assets.
In a tense live stream, Coffeezilla directly confronted Welch, accusing her and her team of insider trading and other questionable activities. “This is one of the most miserable, horrible launches I’ve ever seen,” Coffeezilla said. “I’ve been tracing it on the chain for a while. You guys generated over a million dollars in fees, while your fans got rug pulled. There were snipers, but there was also insider trading directly linked to y’all’s creator accounts.”
Welch responded to the accusations on X (formerly Twitter), denying any wrongdoing by her team or Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). She explained that they had set high fees during the launch to prevent sniper attacks, aiming to protect investors.
However, blockchain analysis from Bubblemaps revealed troubling details. At the coin's launch, 96% of the $HAWK supply was controlled by insiders, although this figure has since dropped to 79%. This concentration of tokens has raised concerns about market manipulation, with some critics accusing the team of siphoning off $2 million while leaving investors with massive losses.
The controversy surrounding the coin's launch has flooded social media with complaints about insider trading and unethical practices, further intensifying the pressure on Welch and her team.
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