Featured Image Credit: hay_welch/Instagram
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Hawk Tuah girl
Gerrard Kaonga
Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch shot to celebrity status in the most bizarre way and quickly hit controversy after fans alleged they lost their life savings after she announced a meme coin.
Haliey was one of the hottest topics in 2024, believe it or not, after going viral for a NSFW answer for an interview in the street.
The 22-year-old capitalized on this and built an online empire, taking advantage of her popularity to increase her followers across multiple social media pages.
This eventually turned into a podcast produced by Jake Paul’s Betr media company, and even a clothing brand.
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Welch then launched her $Hawk memecoin after admitting that many people had already created fake coins, also hoping to take advantage of her fame.
The cryptocurrency, which was reportedly never registered with The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hit a $490m market cap shortly after launch, as per Crypto Times.
But it took a nosedive within hours, with Bloomberg Law reporting the digital coin actually lost more than 90 percent of its value.
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Fans took issue with this and complained to the star on her pages, with some remarking they had lost their life savings or a whole lot of money in general. Some of these fans who felt mislead or betrayed by Welch took to taking legal action against the creators behind the coin.
As well as this, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation after Haliey's meme coin, '$HAWK token', crashed in value after a rapid rise.
Welch’s lawyers have now confirmed that the star will not be facing any charges as a result of the investigation.
James Sallah, Welch’s attorney, said in a statement "The SEC closed the investigation without making any findings against, or seeking any monetary sanctions from, Haliey.
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"Because they did not bring any action against her, there are no restrictions on what she can do in regards to crypto or securities in the future."
Sources that spoke to publication TMZ claimed that Welch is happy to have this behind her and may even have a documentary in the works.
The source also alleged that Welch would not again be venturing into the cryptocurrency or meme coin business.
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Earlier this week (March 25) Welch released a video which alluded to her absence from social media following the debacle involving her memecoin.
Many of her fans rejoiced at her return and even called it ‘the return of the Queen’.