Haliey Welch, the social media influencer higher often known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” launched her personal cryptocurrency – which briefly surged in worth solely to crash in a matter of hours.
Welch, 22, skyrocketed to in a single day fame earlier this yr after an off-color remark that she made throughout an X-rated interview in Nashville went viral on social media. She has capitalized on her viral second by launching a merchandise line and a podcast.
The “HAWK” crypto “memecoin” hit a $490 million market cap shortly after its launch late Wednesday, Cointelegraph reported, citing knowledge from DexScreener.
Inside three hours, the coin had plunged 91% and carried a valuation of simply $41.7 million.
Knowledge from Blockchain evaluation website Bubblemaps confirmed {that a} small variety of crypto wallets managed the overwhelming majority of the accessible provide of “HAWK.”
That fueled criticism on social media about so-called “snipers” – or traders that purchase up huge portions of recent meme tokens at launch.
After the launch, Welch stated on X that her staff had “tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fees in the start of launch” and stated her insiders on the crypto challenge hadn’t “sold one token” of HAWK.
In an interview with Fortune, Welch stated the memecoin was “not just a cash grab.” She admitted that she used to view cryptocurrency as “just a scam” and an “easy way for you to lose money” however stated she has since modified her thoughts.
“I don’t really see it as, like, a gambling thing,” Welch stated. “I think it’s, like, a fun way to get my fans to interact.”
Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen, a preferred crypto YouTuber, was amongst those that criticized Welch’s token launch and warned the general public to remain away.
“Memecoins always benefit A) insiders B) trading bots,” Coffeezilla wrote on X. “Don’t be exit liquidity.”
