‘Hawk Tuah’ Sensation Haliey Welch’s HAWK Token Goes Live

A
private
token
sale
was
done
at
a
$34.5
million
valuation.

Updated
Dec
4,
2024,
10:39 p.m.
UTCPublished
Dec
4,
2024,
10:00 p.m.
UTC

Viral
personality
Haliey
Welch
has
released
her
official
token
on
the
Solana
blockchain,
the
latest
in
a
long
line
of
celebrity
tokens
floated
on
the
network.

Welch
went
viral
earlier
this
year
after
using
a
“hawk
tuah”
onomatopoeia
to
describe
a
sexual
act.
“Hawk
Tuah”
quickly
became
a
phase
used
for
memes
across
social
platforms
—
making
Welch
an
overnight
sensation
from
a

minimum
wage
worker
who
didn’t
even
have
an
Instagram
account.

As
often
happens
with
memes,
“hawk
tuah”
has
found
its
way
to
the
blockchain.
Welch’s
HAWK
token
went
live
on
Solana-based
exchanges
at
22:00
UTC
on
Wednesday
in
partnership
with
overHere,
a
token
launchpad.

Minutes
after
HAWK
began
trading,
its
market
cap
soared
to
$491
million
—
and
then
it
dove
below
$100
million.

Welch
previously
distributed
free
tokens
to
her
social
media
followers
and
supporters
within
the
meme
and
NFT
communities
during
a
campaign
held
from
Nov.
26
to
Dec.
2.

A
statement
shared
with
CoinDesk
said
Welch
can’t
sell
the
HAWK
tokens
she
got
for
one
year
and
they
will
vest
over
three
years.

“Who
doesn’t
love
a
good
meme?”
Welch
said
in
a
prepared
statement.
“Becoming
part
of
meme
culture
interested
me
in
the
world
of
crypto,
and
I’ve
learned
so
much
along
the
way.
Launching
my
own
token
feels
like
the
perfect
next
step
—
not
just
to
create
something
meaningful
for
my
fans
but
also
to
protect
my
community
from
scammers.”

HAWK
is
supported
by
a
foundation
in
the
Cayman
Islands
through
complete
legal
compliance
in
the
U.S.
with
hired
directors
on
staff.
It
has
raised
money
from
a
group
of
private
non-U.S.
investors
at
a
$34.5
million
initial
valuation.

Celebrity
tokens
became
a

short-lived
rage
within
the
Solana
ecosystem
earlier
this
year,
with
several
niche
and
forgotten
media
artists
releasing
their
tokens
using
Pump.Fun
during
a
frenzied
period
in
May.

Most
tokens
ended
up
falling
99%
in
the
days,
or
even
hours,
afterward.

But
Welch’s
team
says
it
is
in
it
for
the
long
run,
hoping
to
build
a
community
around
the
token
and
her
fans
in
a
bid
to
make
it
a
successful
project
in
the
long
term.

“Launching
the
$HAWK
token
creates
a
fun,
secure
and
innovative
way
for
Haliey
to
get
even
closer
to
her
community,”
Jonnie
Forster,
Welch’s
manager,
said
in
a
statement.
“It
not
only
empowers
her
fans
but
also
eliminates
the
confusion
posed
by
scammers
who
are
constantly
releasing
unauthorized
coins
without
approvals
of
her
name
and
likeness.”