Haliey Welch, widely known as Hawk Tuah Girl, and her team have finally spoken out regarding the controversy surrounding her meme cryptocurrency, $HAWK. The coin, which launched to much fanfare, saw its value plummet within an hour, resulting in significant losses for many of Welch’s fans. Some have reportedly lost their life savings, prompting investigations and potential lawsuits. At its peak, $HAWK was valued at $490 million before crashing to $41 million.
The controversy has been described as a “rug pull” by crypto experts—a phenomenon where quick trades exploit price gaps for profit. Welch claimed her team made efforts to mitigate such issues by implementing high fees early in the coin’s launch. However, the team behind the project, overHere, stated their aim was to create an innovative bridge between Web2 and Web3, driven by cultural appeal rather than speculation.
1/ The Truth: We Only Built Airdrop Tech for Web2 Fans, for Free
— overHere (@overHere_gg) December 16, 2024
We saw $HAWK as the perfect use case for our startup’s idea:
to bring airdrops to web2.
Hailey Welch—a literal meme—launching a meme coin felt like synchronicity.
Our goal was simple: bring Web2 fans into Web3…
In a detailed statement, overHere blamed a lack of participation conditions and an individual known as “Doc Hollywood,” who allegedly controlled fees and treasury decisions, for the project’s collapse. The team also denied generating revenue from the venture and accused Doc Hollywood of imposing steep trading fees. These allegations were reportedly denied by the accused.
The fallout has left Welch’s fans disillusioned and her team under scrutiny. As investigations continue, the crypto community has debated the transparency and risks associated with meme coins like $HAWK.
