Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch breaks down in tears addressing cryptocurrency scam allegations
Haliey Welch, widely known as the 'Hawk Tuah girl,' has addressed the controversy surrounding her involvement in an alleged cryptocurrency scam. During a leaked podcast episode with YouTuber FaZe Banks, Welch became emotional while discussing the situation, which has left many investors claiming significant financial losses.
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haWelch gained viral fame in June 2024 following a street interview where she coined the phrase "hawk tuah spit on that thang." Her popularity led to a collaboration with a group of crypto developers to launch her own meme coin, '$HAWK token.' However, on December 4, the token's value plummeted by nearly $450 million in under 20 minutes, with some investors alleging that they lost their life savings.
Critics have accused Welch and her team of a "rug pull," a term describing when cryptocurrency creators sell off large amounts of their holdings, causing the price to crash while investors are left with devalued assets. Reports indicate that '$HAWK token' dropped from a high of $490 million to just $41 million, losing over 95% of its value in a single day.
In the leaked podcast, Welch expressed gratitude to her fans and stated that efforts were being made to 'figure everything out and make things right.' She claimed that the project was initially intended to be a 'long-term coin' and that she regretted how it unfolded.
While Welch expressed regret and a desire to fix the situation, FaZe Banks took a different approach, blaming her team for mismanagement and insider trading. He alleged that Welch's team mishandled the situation, leaked information, and failed to protect her from the fallout.
Welch has not issued an official statement, and her representatives have yet to respond to media inquiries.
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