Haliey Welch of Hawk Tuah Fame Faces Backlash Over Alleged Memecoin Pump-and-Dump: Report

Internet personality Haliey Welch, herself of meme fame, is facing backlash and serious accusations after the implosion of her HAWK memecoin.

According to a report from the BBC, the Talk Tuah host’s Solana ( SOL )-based memecoin HAWK lost more than 95% of its value within hours after launch, prompting YouTuber Coffeezilla to accuse Welch of executing a pump-and-dump scheme.

A pump-and-dump scheme artificially inflates a coin’s value through hype or misinformation. Then, holders of that coin who bought the token cheap (or got it for free), sell those tokens at a high value, crashing the price.

In a copy-and-pasted statement on the social media platform X, Welch has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

“Copy and pasting:

Hawkanomics:

Team hasn’t sold one token and not 1 KOL (key opinion leader) was given 1 free token

We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fees in the start of launch on MeteoraAG

Fees have now been dropped”

Source: Haliey Welch/X

However, according to a blockchain investigator and self-described “on-chain demon” who goes by the pseudonym Zeus, Welch’s claims ring untrue .

“The team hasn’t sold one token:”

Source: Zeus/X

In a conversation with Welch on The Matt Kohrs Show, Coffeezilla told the Talk Tuah host directly that her HAWK launch constituted “the worst tokenomics I have ever seen”, accusing Welch and her team of participating in insider trading, and adding his opinion that the launch was, indeed, “a scam.”

The authorities have not announced any formal investigations into the situation as of writing. However, if any of the alleged charges are brought to Welch and her team, she could face serious and severe legal scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Voger Design/Andy Chipus