Hailey Welch's memecoin $HAWK, launched on the Solana blockchain, garnered investor interest with its rapid rise and equally rapid fall, raising questions about the project's fairness and legality.
The Meteoric Rise
The $HAWK token debuted on December 4 at 10:00 pm UTC, capturing investor attention. Within minutes, the memecoin soared to a $490 million market cap due to massive buy-ins and celebrity support. However, it plummeted 91% in three hours, trading at $0.004906 with a market cap of $49 million by publication.
The Controversy Behind the Crash
The $HAWK volatility sparked controversy over insider trading and sniping. Data showed insiders and snipers owning up to 90% of the token supply post-launch. Welch denied involvement, stating no tokens were sold by her team and measures were taken to prevent sniping.
Legal and Ethical Questions Arise
$HAWK's rise and fall raised legal concerns, with users filing SEC complaints over the token's legality. Legal firms offered assistance to affected investors. This mirrors celebrity cases of promoting tokens without disclosure. Welch claims her approach is different, emphasizing fan connection via tokenization.
Hailey Welch's $HAWK launch drew attention for its dramatic market cap changes, raising questions about fairness and legality of such projects, and serves as a reminder for careful investment in new crypto ventures.
