Haliey Welch, a viral web character generally known as the Hawk Tuah Girl, finds herself embroiled in controversy following the launch of her memecoin HAWK on the Solana blockchain.
The token’s fast rise and fall have drawn sharp criticism from the crypto neighborhood, with accusations of unethical practices that might entice regulatory attraction.
HAWK memecoin
On Dec. 4, the memecoin debuted on the Solana blockchain to a lot acclaim and, in a matter of minutes, surged to a $500 million market cap, solely to nosedive to as little as $60 million shortly after.
This unstable efficiency left many traders fuming as hypothesis grew that the token might need been designed for a pump-and-dump scheme—a tactic during which malicious builders revenue from artificially inflated costs earlier than abandoning the venture.
Blockchain evaluation from Bubblemaps confirmed additional regarding particulars about HAWK’s launch. In line with the agency, practically 96% of the token’s provide was reportedly managed by insider wallets. Such concentrated holdings are sometimes related to market manipulation, additional fueling skepticism concerning the token’s legitimacy.
In an X Areas hosted by the venture’s group, on-chain investigator Coffeezilla slammed Welch and her group for insider buying and selling. He acknowledged:
“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 your creator accounts.”
The HAWK state of affairs was harking back to earlier superstar token launches on Solana that failed. Earlier this yr, a number of artists and influencers issued tokens throughout a short pattern, however many of those belongings misplaced virtually all their worth inside hours and days.
Critics argue that the HAWK token has adopted an analogous trajectory, highlighting the dangers of investing in unproven celebrity-endorsed tokens.
Authorized fallout
The token’s collapse has triggered outrage throughout social media, with some customers reporting the incident to regulatory authorities.
In the meantime, a number of traders declare to have filed complaints with the US Securities and Change Fee (SEC), whereas regulation corporations supply authorized help to those that incurred losses. One agency, Burwick Legislation, publicly inspired affected events to come back ahead and discover their choices for recourse.
Including to the uproar, crypto neighborhood members created a satirical token referred to as “Straight Tuah Prison,” insinuating that Welch ought to face accountability for the token’s failure. These developments recommend potential authorized challenges for Welch and her group shortly.
Welch’s response
In her protection, Welch denied any wrongdoing in a Dec. 5 submit on X (previously Twitter), stating that her group had not offered tokens and that no influential figures had obtained free allocations.
Welch defined that they launched HAWK utilizing Meteora, a decentralized liquidity protocol, to discourage snipers. She wrote:
“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.”
Over Right here, a platform collaborating with Welch on the launch, echoed her statements. They clarified that the tokenomics have been designed with transparency and that Welch’s group offered no tokens.
In addition they famous that her group’s 10% token allocation is locked for one yr and topic to a three-year vesting schedule.
Regardless of these assurances, the controversy raises questions concerning the dangers related to celebrity-endorsed crypto initiatives.
Posted In: Solana, Featured, Memecoins, Individuals, Tokens Writer 
Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin’s potential. He imparts insights on a variety of matters like DeFi, hacks, mining and tradition, underlining transformative energy.
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Liam ‘Akiba’ Wright
Also called “Akiba,” Liam Wright is the Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate and host of the SlateCast. He believes that decentralized expertise has the potential to make widespread constructive change.
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