Haliey Welch, the 22-year-old who rose to fame this summer for her viral "hawk tuah" TikTok video, is coming under fire for what many view as a disastrous launch of her cryptocurrency.
In Welch's latest career move since achieving celebrity status, she attempted to launch her own so-called "meme coin," a form of cryptocurrency created as a form of entertainment. But shortly after she and a team of advisors launched $HAWK on the blockchain platform Solana on Wednesday evening, its value almost immediately plummeted.
Now, some are suggesting that Welch may have run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission, an independent oversight agency that regulates financial markets, including cryptocurrency.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, some investors in the currency have already filed complaints with the SEC, alleging that what took place could have been what's known as a "rug pull" – when developers hype up a crypto project to inflate the value, only to profit off it before it tanks and they walk away.
Meanwhile, Welch and her team have taken to social media to dispel the notion that the meme coin was a scam.
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Welch's claim to fame primarily came during the summer when, while she was in Nashville for the CMA Fest, a YouTuber recorded and posted a clip of her cracking a sexual joke.
Since then, Welch has embarked on a new career as a celebrity, social media influencer and marketer.
She assembled a team consisting of an attorney, a management company and a PR firm, and created a company, 16 Minutes. She started a podcast, Talk Tuah, and has appeared on stage with country music star Zach Bryan at his show in Nashville and hung out with Shaquille O'Neal.
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But her latest venture, a cryptocurrency of her own, is landing Welch in some hot water.
The Hawk Tuah crypto is what's known as a meme coin, which like the Dogecoin associated with Elon Musk, references popular social media memes.
Welch’s coin quickly hit a market capitalization of nearly $500 million before immediately plummeting 95% to $25 million as of Thursday afternoon, resulting in big losses for some traders, according to Forbes, which cited DexScreener data.
CoinTelegraph, which covers news on the crypto industry, reported about 80% to 90% of the Hawk Tuah supply was controlled by entities known as snipers that buy up most of the supply, sell it for a massive profit and tank the value.