In the space of less than 20 minutes, the cryptocurrency memecoin of the 'Hawk Tuah girl' plummeted by just shy of $450 million.
Fans claimed they had lost their entire life savings in less than the amount of time it takes to watch an episode of The Simpsons, as Haliey Welch and the creators behind her '$HAWK token' have been accused of coordinating a 'rug pull'.
The term is used to describe the process where creators of cryptocurrency sell off their stock, leading to prices crashing, and those who put money into it are left with coins worth next to nothing.
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The value of Welch's cryptocurrency plummeted from as much as $490 million to just $41 million - with some news outlets even claiming it lost more than 95 percent of its value in the one day it was released, on December 4.
Now, those investors who were left out of pocket have hired lawyers to go after Welch and the team behind her.
In a document that was filed to the court yesterday (December 19), it read in part that the lawsuit 'arises from the unlawful promotion and sale of the Hawk Tuah cryptocurrency memecoin, known as the "$HAWK" token (the "Token" or "$HAWK"), which Defendants offered and sold to the public without proper registration'.
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Tuah The Moon Foundation, which oversaw the memecoin's finances, OverHere Ltd, which created the coin, and Clinton So, executive at OverHere, have all been named in the lawsuit alongside the coin's promoter Alex Larson Schultz.
However, Welch was not named in the complaint which alleges that the defendants used her social media following to market the coin to 'emphasize community engagement, inclusivity, and bridge mainstream culture with the cryptocurrency world'.
Although Reddit users are skeptical and seemingly believe that she could still be dragged into the court case.
Taking to the platform, one person commented: "She's gonna be the scapegoat for the others involved."
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"She tried to make easy money without knowing or caring how it worked. She knew they were using her name / popularity to promote so that’s all on her," a second said.
"Not saying the others involved shouldn’t get sued too, but she’s not an innocent scapegoat."
Another replied: "Of course she was trying to make money. But at the same time, she could’ve been lied to about how things will work.
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"Even all of us here know s*** about f***, so imagine how clueless the average person is on crypto. Not saying she’s innocent about the scam part, but it’s possible."
UNILAD has contacted Welch's representatives for comment.
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Hawk Tuah girl, Social Media, Reddit
Joe Yates