Viral 'Hawk Tuah' girl accused of crypto scam

(NewsNation) — A woman known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl" is now facing accusations that her cryptocurrency, which launched Wednesday, was part of a so-called pump and dump scam.

Haliey Welch went viral after a social media video containing an off-the-cuff sex tip boosted her to internet fame. Welch quit her job at a spring factory after the video took off, launched a podcast and made endorsement deals off her viral image.

Welch has also become involved in the world of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin. That led to the launch of her own cryptocurrency, a meme coin based on her own viral success.

$HAWK launched on the blockchain platform Solana with promises it complied with security laws. The coin exploded by 900% during initial trading, with market capitalization nearing half a billion dollars, according to Dexscreener. But then the price collapsed by roughly 95%, wiping out retail investors within hours.

Earlier this year the Solana exchange saw a spike in similar celebrity tokens, most of which also quickly plummeted in value, according to Coindesk. There are hundreds of tokens on Solana as of Friday, most valued in the fractions of a cent, with names including SANTA and PIZZAGUY.

However, the abrupt fall of $HAWK has led to allegations of a pump-and-dump scheme or rug pull, where developers promote a crypto project to raise money before liquidating their assets and walking away.

Critics have alleged there is evidence of insiders on the project getting rid of their investments for large amounts and buyers known as snipers, coming in and buying up the bulk of available coins to sell for instant profit.

The publication Cointelegraph found one crypto wallet was able to get 17.5% of the supply of $HAWK and then flip it in 90 minutes, earning $1.3 million.

Blockchain data analyst Bubblemaps also found 96% of $HAWK was concentrated in one cluster of related wallets, something that critics say suggests a degree of coordination around transfers.

Investors began filing complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission following the launch. It isn't clear what penalties Welch or others behind the $HAWK coin could face.

In a post to X, Welch denied claims that she or her team even sold one token and said that no one who promoted the coin was given free tokens. In the post, Welch wrote: "We tried to stop snipers as best as we could through high fees in the start of launch... fees have now been dropped."

Nexstar reached out to Welch's team for comment and will update if we hear back.

Welch is the latest online influencer to face criticism of cryptocurrency scamming. One such influencer includes YouTuber Jimmy "Mr. Beast" Donaldson, who was recently accused of promoting cryptocurrencies with the intention of dumping them once fans bought in.

In response to the accusations, a Mr. Beast representative said in a statement, in part: "These investments were made and managed in consultation with industry experts to ensure full compliance with all appropriate rules and relegations. [The wallet being said to belong to Donaldson] is not owned or managed by Jimmy, but rather a fund led by respected and sophisticated managers."