Hailey Welch wants people to forget her, but her name is still tied to a huge crypto disaster—perhaps one of the biggest in the past 12 months. Her viral fame made her rich after she appeared on shows and launched her podcast (Talk Tuah with Hailey Welch).
Yet, like many naive young celebrities—from Andrew Tate, Alexis Texas, Barron Trump, Jason Derulo, Lil Pump, and Soulja Boy—Welch jumped in when she got the chance to launch a meme coin.
Like many before her, she entered the crypto world with a meme coin launched on Solana – and this gave birth to HAWK crypto
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Yet, despite ripping high on launch to slam a $500M market cap, the token crashed almost instantly (just one hour after launch) in what many allege was a classic developer rug pull.
After the rug-pull, Hawk Tuah girl hit the ground and went quiet – for months. Meanwhile, investor losses flipped into pure rage – in a way not seen before with previous celebrity meme coin scams.
Perhaps this palpable rage was because of her internet darling status, which was more widespread in the crypto community than any Tate TikTok or Derulo track. The collapsed price chart represented something much bigger in the industry—a crisis of confidence and trust in the biggest influencers.
Hailey Welch Speaks Out – But It’s Too Late For The Hawk Tuah Star
Yet, in a dramatic twist, Welch finally reappeared on Thursday and discussed the scandal. She released a new episode of her podcast, “Talk Tuah.”
It was her first time addressing the issue in two months, and she invited big names in crypto and social media to back her up, including popular streamer FaZe Banks, DeGods creator Frank (Rohun Vora), and influencer Threadguy.
The discussion mainly focused on Welch’s role in the project, her own financial losses, and the pressing lawsuits against her ex-business partners.
A guilty-ridden Welch says she was misled by the developer team when they invited her to join the project, but many in the community still don’t believe her. Investors see her as another influencer promoting risky crypto without understanding the risks.
However, there could be a semblance of truth in the matter, as Welch isn’t part of the lawsuit, but her former business partners are.
Investors claim the developers lied about HAWK coin’s potential, especially given the -98% dump just one hour after launch; the lawsuit also alleges they used fake marketing to promote what was ultimately a masterminded crypto scam.
I genuinely think Hawk Tuah has no idea about crypto and her team is the one that set her up in a terrible position.
Way to step up and talk about it with banks. pic.twitter.com/bcJFBiDRya
— James (@jamesmarchioni3) February 7, 2025
Throughout the podcast, Hailey Welch broadcasts her ignorance of the crypto industry and regulations in the United States, including questioning whether presales are even available to US investors.
Meanwhile, Faze Banks stressed to Hailey the need for transparency over crypto-related issues due to the ferocity of crypto Twitter’s on-chain sleuth community and explained that much of Welch’s problems have come from the promotion of the story across media networks, which have milked the story for millions in views and cemented her reputation alongside the coin.
Overall, the podcast came across as a bit of a group therapy session, as Faze Banks took the lead in redeeming Welch’s image and helping to vent community frustrations in a healthy way – while prescribing a way for Welch to fix the situation.
Perhaps the most damning revelation of it all was that Hawk Tuah girls’ own family and friends lost money in the scam – including her beloved Pookie-bear – who reportedly exclaimed to her, “How you gonna take my money?!” – to which she responded, “I didn’t do it!”.
So, with Hailey Welch’s reputational repair job underway, it remains to be seen what will happen next – the outcome will depend on the seemingly waining level of legal and public pressure.
In the meantime, HAWK crypto remains -98% down from its ATH. Welch may have stepped back, but the controversy—and the legal battle—are far from over.
Some celebrities who have been caught in crypto controversies, like Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather, settled SEC charges and moved on. Others didn’t really face any consequences.
One critical development that might relieve Welch came on February 13, 2025, when new SEC crypto task force boss Heather Peirce claimed that the Official Trump crypto and Official Melania crypto (both of which saw similar dumps in January) were outside the SEC’s jurisdiction.
The legal defense team for Hawk Tuah Crypto could use this to highlight that the product offered was never secure, and ultimately, retail meme coin traders knew the risks.
Never Miss a Hot Meme Coin Again – Invest Smarter with Meme Index
Trump’s tariffs caused a crypto downturn, wiping out billions before stabilizing. Bitcoin (BTC) is consolidating between $96,000–$102,000, but long-term sentiment remains bullish despite short-term market uncertainty.
While the market decides which direction to take, some projects continue to attract attention thanks to their innovative features.
Meme Index is revolutionizing meme coin investing, helping investors never miss out on the next viral token. With over $3.5 million raised in its ongoing presale, Meme Index ($MEMEX) is quickly gaining traction as the go-to platform for diversified meme coin exposure.
By leveraging an index investing approach—widely used in traditional stock markets—Meme Index allows investors to spread their funds across a curated basket of meme coins. This strategy minimizes risk while increasing the chances of capturing the next big winner in the space.
- Security First – Meme Index is fully audited by Coinsult and SolidProof.
- 651% APY – Early $MEMEX investors can earn massive staking rewards.
- Flexible Payment – Buy with USDT, ETH, BNB, or even credit/debit cards.
- Current Presale Price: $0.0160352 per $MEMEX
With thousands of meme coins launching daily, identifying profitable projects is harder than ever. Sifting through that many projects to find the next $DOGE or $SHIB is nearly impossible for individual investors.
The key to success? Diversification. By holding various meme coins, investors improve their odds of landing a high-return token. Meme Index simplifies this process—so you never have to chase the latest trend or worry about missing out.
Crypto Analysts Predict Major Growth for $MEMEX
With early-bird pricing and a rapidly growing community, Meme Index is positioning itself as the future of meme coin investing.
Meme Index offers four unique investment indices, catering to different investor risk levels:
- Meme Titan Index: This index invests in established giants like $DOGE, $PEPE, and $SHIB, reducing volatility.
- Moonshot Index: Focuses on meme coins with $250M–$1B market caps, balancing risk and reward.
- Midcap Index: This index targets meme coins with market caps between $50M and $250M, offering high growth potential.
- Meme Frenzy Index: Backs newly launched meme coins with the potential to go viral.
$MEMEX holders can mix and match these indices or vote on which tokens to include, ensuring a community-driven investment experience.
EXPLORE: Dave Portnoy’s New Meme Coin Went 100,000% But What Is The Best Meme Coin to Buy?
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