Hawk Tuah Meme Coin Plummets Over 90% After Launch
Hailey Welch’s Hawk Tuah meme coin has generated significant controversy on social media after experiencing a pump-and-dump, collapsing over 90% from its peak shortly after launch. Investors have raised concerns about insider wallets and sniper activity related to this token.
The HAWK token launched at 10:00 PM UTC on December 4, briefly achieving a market capitalization of $490 million before its rapid decline. Welch has denied any involvement in insider sales or activities by her team or affiliates.
According to DexScreener data, the valuation of HAWK plummeted to $36.6 million, reflecting a 90% drop within three hours. Data from Bubblemaps and DexScreener indicates that 80% to 90% of HAWK's supply at launch was held by insiders and snipers—entities that quickly acquire large amounts of a token during its initial release.
Following the incident, Welch addressed the situation on the X platform, asserting that her team did not sell any tokens and no opinion leaders received free HAWK coins. She explained that the token was launched on Meteora, a decentralized liquidity protocol, to mitigate sniping risks, stating:
“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 fees in the start of launch on Meteora.”
Investors Lose Major Money in Hawk Tuah Meme Coin Dump
Data from the Solana block explorer Solscanner reveals that one wallet acquired 17.5% of the HAWK supply seconds after launch, purchasing tokens for 4,195 Wrapped Solana (WSOL), valued at $993,000. Within 90 minutes, the wallet sold 135.8 million HAWK tokens, realizing a profit of $1.3 million. One user on the X platform commented:
“I really lost $43k apeing in ‘hawk tuah’ coin.”
Despite Welch's claims of no wrongdoing, some market observers believe the HAWK pump-and-dump could lead to regulatory issues for her and her team. Users on the X platform reported filing complaints with the US SEC regarding the HAWK meme coin. Additionally, law firms are beginning to advertise their services to those who incurred losses from the token.
In a post on December 5, Burwick Law encouraged individuals who suffered losses to contact their firm to understand their legal rights, stating, “If you lost money on $HAWK, contact our firm to learn about your legal rights.”