Hailey Welch, known online as the “Hawk Tuah girl,” said the collapse of the HAWK memecoin she promoted in 2024 left her traumatised and facing severe backlash.
Welch said she was persuaded to support the project without fully understanding cryptocurrency, warning others to be cautious about associating with digital asset ventures.
“I got talked into doing something that I didn't know anything about, really, but you've got to be really careful what you put your name on,”
Said social media influencer, Hailey Welch.
She added that she cooperated with a 2025 Federal Bureau of Investigation probe that cleared her of wrongdoing, noting she neither controlled funds from the launch nor had the technical expertise behind the token.
“I was starting to get death threats and everything else... I'm sitting here, and I'm the one getting hit for this,”
Said social media influencer Hailey Welch, describing the mental toll of the incident.
The HAWK token briefly surged to a market capitalisation above $490 million following its December 2024 launch before plunging more than 90% within a day, prompting accusations of a rug pull and a subsequent investor lawsuit against the project’s organisers.
Critics, including onchain investigator ZachXBT, disputed her claims of victimhood, arguing she ignored widespread warnings and contributed to losses, which her legal team estimated at around $200,000.
At the time of reporting, Hawk price was $0.00003445.