The Rise and Fall of $HAWK: What Went Wrong with the ‘Hawk Tuah’ Memecoin Disaster?

Haliey Welch, famously known as the viral sensation “Hawk Tuah girl,” has found herself at the center of one of the crypto world’s latest controversies. In a leaked episode of her podcast “Talk Tuah,” Welch and her lawyer, Christian Barker, attempted to unravel the chaos surrounding the catastrophic launch of her memecoin, $HAWK.

The launch of $HAWK was met with massive hype, initially soaring to a $500 million market cap. However, within just 30 minutes, it nosedived to $50 million, leaving many investors holding the bag. Crypto analysts and critics quickly labeled the coin a textbook pump-and-dump scheme.

Behind the Scenes: The Deals That Led to Disaster

According to Barker, Welch was set to receive a total of $325,000 for the use of her likeness and branding, along with 5% of the total token supply—locked for one year. However, what Welch and her non-crypto team didn’t anticipate was the impact of back-end deals that had already been set in motion.

Barker revealed that 17% of the token supply had been pre-sold before launch. In memecoin culture, early investors often cash out at the expense of retail traders, leading to a rapid collapse in value. While Welch’s team was assured that these pre-sale tokens would have a one-month lockup, on-chain data suggests otherwise.

Adding to the instability, 80% of the token supply remains under the control of its developer. Without any firm commitments to lock or redistribute these holdings, any hopes of a price recovery for $HAWK seem bleak.

The BitGalactic Take: A Case Study in Influencer-Backed Crypto Disasters

From BitGalactic’s perspective, the $HAWK debacle is yet another example of influencer-backed crypto ventures gone wrong. The problem isn’t just that Welch lacked crypto expertise—it’s that her team failed to conduct proper due diligence. Unlike established projects with transparent tokenomics and community-driven initiatives, $HAWK appears to have been driven by short-term hype rather than long-term sustainability.

The incident also highlights a critical flaw in the memecoin space: unchecked developer control. With the majority of $HAWK’s supply still in one entity’s hands, retail investors are left at the mercy of a single player—an inherently risky scenario in any crypto investment.

FaZe Banks and the Podcast Leak: A Final Blow?

Further complicating matters, FaZe Banks—who was brought on as a memecoin expert for Welch’s podcast—claimed that the episode’s leak was a strategic move to pump $HAWK’s price. According to Banks, Welch’s team failed to meet agreed-upon conditions for the podcast, leading them to cancel the episode.

However, on February 2, Banks noticed an unexplained surge in $HAWK’s trading volume, followed by messages inquiring about the podcast. Soon after, the episode was mysteriously leaked, fueling speculation that the team was attempting to manipulate the token’s value once again.

“They completely blew it and we called the episode off right then and there,” Banks wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Now today, the episode ‘randomly’ gets leaked. The price of $HAWK is pumping and they completely fumbled the bag, yet again.”

Final Takeaway: A Cautionary Tale for Future Influencers

The $HAWK disaster serves as yet another cautionary tale in the world of crypto and influencer-backed projects. Welch herself summed it up best when recalling advice from rapper Wiz Khalifa: “Don’t ever put your name on something you don’t understand.”

For investors, the lesson is clear: memecoins thrive on hype, but without transparency and solid tokenomics, they often end in disaster. As for Welch, whether she can recover from this PR nightmare remains to be seen.