Viral influencer Haliey Welch's Hawk Tuah memecoin sparks outrage across social media as it briefly pumped to a peak market cap of $490M and then dumped 90%+

Haliey Welch's memecoin HAWK has plunged 90% since its launch, though Welch has denied any insider sales from herself or her team.

Cointelegraph 2024-12-05 Tom Mitchelhill

Context & Ripple Effects

HAWK’s rapid reversal sits alongside earlier coverage of Pepecoin’s concentrated-ownership concerns, showing that social attention can quickly create large memecoin valuations without resolving questions about who controls supply.

The subsequent backlash over a Pump.Fun “soft rug pull” places HAWK in a broader trust problem for retail-facing token launches: viral distribution is fast, while user protections remain uneven.

First-order effects

HAWK holders faced an immediate collapse in the token’s quoted value after its brief $490M peak, while social-media outrage shifted attention to the launch and its trading activity.
Welch and her team face heightened reputational scrutiny; her denial of insider sales becomes central to how audiences assess responsibility for the decline.

Second-order effects

Token-launch platforms and promoters face stronger pressure to demonstrate ownership, allocation, and trading transparency when influencer-led assets attract retail buyers.
The episode may make prospective buyers more sensitive to concentrated holdings and rapid price moves, a concern already visible in coverage of Pepecoin’s ownership concentration.

Third-order effects

If such launches continue to pair viral celebrity reach with sharp reversals, memecoin markets will increasingly compete on verifiable market-integrity controls rather than attention alone.
The durable tension is between monetizing a public persona and governing the financial product attached to it, raising the importance of clearer accountability for influencer-branded tokens.

The trend: Influencer-driven memecoins are turning online attention into tradable assets faster than market-integrity and likeness-governance norms can catch up.

Discussion

@clevernickname23 @clevernickname23 on bluesky
When people equate 15 minutes of viral fame with being an investment opportunity.
@districtofkatya Kathy on bluesky
There's gonna be so much of this shit under Trump and it would be extremely funny if in the end it didn't just mean billionaires will keep siphoning money from dumb people. [embedded post]
@cameronclark Cameron Clark on bluesky
I believe market analysts call this “girlbossing too close to the sun” [embedded post]
@bisonfish @bisonfish on bluesky
so now the worst thing isn't how she spells her name
@highlightt @highlightt on bluesky
*guy who tries to eat soup with a fork and knife*:I can't believe it [embedded post]
@patbits @patbits on bluesky
Sell off that thang! [embedded post]
@zaisarel Zai Sarel on bluesky
Gonna talk tuah SEC agent
@ricketyshack.ca Derek on bluesky
If you lost money on this, I have to assume you're not allowed to use a fork or spoon without safety goggles and at least one adult minder. [embedded post]
@kylewoodley Kyle Woodley on bluesky
This is such a common-enough occurrence, that happens only to people who opt in (no one buys shitcoins against their will), that I don't understand why there's any outrage over it whatsoever. This is a well-known risk. It's like getting outraged over some dude crapping out at t…
@gedalia @gedalia on bluesky
Clearly everyone decided to spit it out.
@doctoracularf Doctor Acula on bluesky
Hawk Tuah girl, the memecoin pumped — Hawk Tuah girl, the memecoin dumped — Shaka when the walls fell
@lowmag.net Eli Sarver on bluesky
so it got pumped, and then dumped. this is my shocked face
@loathsome.computer @loathsome.computer on bluesky
am i having a stroke [embedded post]
@molly.wiki Molly White on bluesky
i should be entitled to pain and suffering pay [embedded post]
@paris.nyc Paris Martineau on bluesky
she should have gone with “hawk tuah, block on that chain” — qz.com/hawk-tuah-me...
@wapplehouse Kristi Yamaguccimane on bluesky
I been hacked. — all my hawks tuah'd. this just sold please help me [image]
@cubefag @cubefag on bluesky
you know that guy didn't really lose his kids college fund on the hawk tuah memecoin, right — it's the bluecheck crypto guy version of saying you're ripping up mail-in ballots for trump
@bengoggin Ben Goggin on bluesky
Hawk Tuah girl's memecoin blew up and then plummeted... how many times have we seen this with influencer crypto projects now? I would really love to know who is still getting fooled by projects like this, especially people who are online enough to catch the debut of something li…
@swagmoyed @swagmoyed on bluesky
personally i would rather put myself in a pit of angry wasps than confess to anyone that i lost my life savings because i fell for a pump and dump crypto memecoin investment scheme made by the hawk tuah girl [embedded post]
@knibbs Kate Knibbs on bluesky
“hawk tuah and rug pull that thang” cointelegraph.com/news/hawk- tu...
@yburyug @yburyug on bluesky
Hawk Tuah girl didn't do it for the lulz why is anyone surprised the memecoin did not work out? She didn't even scam anyone this is just how casinos work
@kyleian Kyle Ian on bluesky
Hawk Tuah PRESSED by Investigator Coffeezilla for allegedly scamming millions regarding the $HAWK memecoin launch.
@vxundergroundre @vxundergroundre on bluesky
Word on the street is Haliey Welch a/k/a Hawk Tuah girl, has rugged pulled her fans with a memecoin. She has stated publicly she and her team have not sold anything. — Today Haliey is going to learn about the blockchain, CoffeeZilla, and ZachXBT (she's going to have a bad day)
@crampell Catherine Rampell on bluesky
The 2024 U.S. economy in a nutshell [image]
@alexnabu Crypto Alex on bluesky
Losing your life savings on Hawk Tuah memecoin is an iq test if anything. If u did bad news... [embedded post]
@thetofuwanter @thetofuwanter on bluesky
Ah- the Hawk Tuah Girl memecoin. Just as Marx predicted [embedded post]
@peltzmadeline Madeline Peltz on bluesky
I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings. [image]
@leoschwartz Leo Schwartz on bluesky
I spoke with “Hawk tuah” girl Haliey Welch about her Solana memecoin launching today, and her manager cut in to insist they “don't want to break securities laws.” — Submitting for my Pulitzer: — fortune.com/crypto/2024/...
@pugganoche Dave on bluesky
Something about a question being answered by a shirt. [image]
@meme-guy @meme-guy on bluesky
The same people calling for criminal chargers for Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch and here memecoin $HAWK rugpull are the same ones cheering deregulation of crypto and a severely handicapped SEC. Can't have it both ways
@zeuslfg Zeus on x
@HalieyWelchX @MeteoraAG The team hasn't sold one token: [image]
@halieywelchx Haliey Welch on x
Copy and pasting: Hawkanomics: Team hasn't sold one token and not 1 KOL was given 1 free token We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fee's in the start of launch on @MeteoraAG Fee's have now been dropped [image]
@halieywelchx Haliey Welch on x
Hawk is live!!! HAWKThXRcNL9ZGZKqgUXLm4W8tnRZ7U6MVdEepS utj34 [video]
@chooserich Nick O'Neill on x
Hawk Tuah's reaction when I asked how much the team is getting paid 😂 [video]
@_sidverma Sid Verma on x
Even just a tiny allocation of the $40 trillion in US retirement funds could significantly boost the HAWK Tuak coin
@yarumasi @yarumasi on x
So the ‘hawk tuah’ girl effectively was just a part of a rug pull/insider trading scam on a memecoin. I really like when people like this get propped up by the internet 🙂
@smoak843 @smoak843 on x
So let me get this straight, the hawk tuah chick just rug pulled a bunch of her followers through a “meme coin” scam to get her and her team filthy rich and might be going to prison? Yea just go ahead and Launch the nukes we're done here, this is a failed society.
@benwrightvt Ben Wright on x
If you are new to crypto and you just found out about the Hawk Tuah Memecoin, heres your warning She has released the contract address so it is going to be botted more than you can imagine. When millions of other newbies are going to do the same thing as you (buy this like [video…
@aktiehedonist @aktiehedonist on x
Just launched, the $HAWK coin (Hawk Tuah) soared to a $500M market cap then crashed to $60M in minutes. A stark reminder of meme coin volatility and the risks of celebrity-backed crypto. #CryptoNews #HawkTuah #MemeCoin
@minister_penis Viktor on x
The girl who became popular after a video with the phrase “hawk tuah” announced the release of her meme coin. Immediately after the launch, the coin hit the $500Mmcap$ mark and within minutes, it was drained down to $20Mmcap$. 90% supply was with the team. #CryptoNews #hawktuah […
@bentoboinft BentoBoi on x
The $HAWK TUA Memecoin Dev Made Over $2 Million in 10 minutes?! 96% of the supply is held in one cluster Main Takeaway: Stay Away From Celebrity Coins Here's the situation👇 [video]
@sonniemoondat Sonnie on x
The solution for Hawk Tuah once it went viral was that @HalieyWelchX should have just opened up an OnlyFans but instead she created a Memecoin $HAWK that left all of her supporters in big financial losses while her and her foundation took off with over 5m+ Lessons @sophieraiin
@_sidverma Sid Verma on x
Wall Street voice: The combination of rich valuations, less favorable momentum technicals and mid- to late-cycle crypto risk suggest the easy money in the Hawk Tuah meme coin has already been made
@nag4te Lennox on x
I don't like crypto but for the ones that do please don't buy this. It's a scam bro. First of all hawk tuah is a shit joke that will die soon. And also look at the community notes that's another reason.
@trungtphan Trung Phan on x
Hawk Tuah launched a meme coin today. Market cap spiked to $500m before collapsing to $60m. Users mad insiders were selling and when Hawk Tuah denied it, was Community Noted with a comment she might have to “Talk Tuah judge about this”. Good lord. [image]
@jackmehoffsr Jack Mehoff Sr on x
Honestly if you are stupid enough to buy into this meme coin then you deserve to lose all your money. Fucking idiots decided that a girl who made her entire career off of saying “Hawk Tuah” on TikTok was going to have enough staying power to make a profitable currency. Stupid.
@vxunderground @vxunderground on x
Word on the street is Haliey Welch a/k/a Hawk Tuah girl, has rugged pulled her fans with a memecoin. She has stated publicly she and her team have not sold anything. Today Haliey is going to learn about the blockchain, CoffeeZilla, and ZachXBT (she's going to have a bad day)
@turnernovak Turner Novak on x
Excited to announce the Hawk Tuah Rug Coin. A crypto coin for people who got rugged by the Hawk Tuah meme coin. This is special coin, an ecosystem built by the rugged, built for us to band together and fight back against rug pullers.

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