Emily Walker
Is it fraud, or just another failed meme coin promoted by influencers? This challenging issue is what investors are grappling with following the recent decline of the HAWK meme coin.
The key question remains: Did Haliey Welch and her team execute a traditional rug pull, or was this merely the effect of FUD on a highly volatile asset?
Regardless, the HAWK incident serves as a critical reminder to steer clear of cryptocurrency scams, while projects like Flockerz (FLOCK) exemplify the potential of well-planned meme coin initiatives.
A Memorable Launch
Haliey Welch, known as the ‘Hawk Tuah Girl,’ rose to fame in 2024 as a significant advocate for crypto, particularly favoring DOGE and the meme coin culture.
Thus, it wasn’t surprising when this self-styled ‘Queen of Memes’ announced the release of her own token, HAWK, on December 4, 2024, utilizing the Solana blockchain via OverHere.
HAWK’s Dramatic Downfall
The token initially surged to a market cap of $500 million but soon faced a staggering drop of over 95% as selling activity intensified.
Currently, the market cap has stabilized at around $31 million, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
What caused this sudden fall?
The decline prompted allegations of a ‘pump-and-dump’ scheme, where participants artificially inflate an asset’s worth before selling their holdings for profit, leaving other investors with losses.
Welch refuted these claims through social media, asserting that her team did not sell tokens and had instituted high initial fees to prevent early market manipulation.
However, many investors found her explanations dubious, noting large quantities of tokens concentrated in a few wallets. Data from Bubblemaps.io illustrated significant wallet concentrations, with one holding over 15% of the total supply.
As selling commenced, prices plummeted, causing the market cap to collapse.
Investors rapidly reported heavy financial losses, with some stating they had invested their life savings or funds earmarked for their children’s education.
This event raised serious doubts about Welch’s integrity.
Newcomers in the Crypto Space
Experts, including Coffeezilla on YouTube noted that many of Welch’s followers and potential HAWK investors were likely newcomers to cryptocurrency and may not have understood the necessity of conducting thorough research rather than relying solely on an inexperienced influencer’s direction.
Some warning signs regarding the HAWK token included:
- No comprehensive white paper, just a few brief GitHub entries
- 20% of tokens allocated to founders without any vesting period
The implications meant that a fifth of the total tokens were available for immediate sale, with only 3% allocated to public investors, revealing significant transparency issues.
Conversations soon shifted to concerns about fraud and potential legal repercussions.
Advice for Meme Coin Investors
The emergence of Haliey Welch’s HAWK token showcased a fleeting increase in value followed by a dramatic drop, resulting in losses for investors and allegations of fraudulent behavior, which Welch denies.
This situation emphasizes the necessity for investors to seek projects backed by thorough information. For example, successful endeavors like Flockerz provide transparent roadmaps, community governance, insights on tokenomics, and comprehensive details on staking, vesting, and more.
In the world of cryptocurrency, being informed is essential. Whether Haliey Welch conducted her due diligence is uncertain, but the HAWK launch swiftly devolved into a problematic situation.
To avoid becoming the next victim like those associated with HAWK, it is crucial to research thoroughly before investing in meme coins.
Sources
- The Official Hawk Tuah Token Debuts on overHere (OverHere)
- Exposing the Hawk Tuah Scam (YouTube)
- Hawk Tuah Token Transactions (Bubblemaps)
- The Official Hawk Tuah Token (GitBook)