HAWK Memecoin Collapse: Promoter Says Cleared by FBI, Critics Call It a Rug Pull
“Hawk Tuah Girl”Hailey Welsh says the HAWK memecoin collapse left her traumatized. In a Channel 5 interview, she said she went into hiding for months after receiving death threats and facing public backlash.
HAWK launched in Dec 2024 and surged to about a $490M market cap within hours. It then crashed more than 90% the next day to roughly $40M, and later bottomed near a $1M valuation. The event was widely labelled a rug pull, and her lawyer estimated retail losses at around $200,000.
Welsh insists she did not engineer the HAWK memecoin, had no technical ability to create the token, and received no proceeds—claiming she was only approached to promote it. An FBI probe reviewed her role in 2025 and cleared her of wrongdoing.
However, critics including on-chain sleuth ZachXBT dispute her account, saying crypto users repeatedly warned her not to launch a token and that she went quiet as investors absorbed losses. The controversy highlights elevated counterparty and reputational risk in influencer-led speculative tokens.
Trading takeaway for HAWK: The HAWK memecoin episode can intensify short-term caution around similar meme/speculative launches, even if it’s now an aftershock rather than fresh liquidity.
Bearish
For HAWK itself, the story reinforces lasting negative sentiment. The HAWK memecoin is still trading around a small fraction of its launch-era valuation after a >90% one-day crash and a widely cited rug-pull narrative. Even though Welsh claims no proceeds and an FBI probe cleared her in 2025, critics and on-chain commentators continue to contest the details, keeping reputational overhang elevated. That combination typically suppresses fresh bids and keeps liquidity fragmented, limiting any meaningful rebound unless new credible catalysts appear.