Social media star Haliey Welch, the creator of the viral “Hawk Tuah” meme coin, has broken her silence over the multimillion-dollar collapse of the cryptocurrency. Welch has stated that she is “fully cooperating” with her legal team and is committed to assisting the victims of the alleged financial losses.
Welch’s rise to fame began in June when she became known for her raunchy catchphrase, which led to the launch of the $HAWK coin on the Solana blockchain. The coin reportedly soared to a market capitalization of $490 million before falling 95% within minutes. Critics alleged that insiders caused the price drop and profited from it.
An investor group has now filed a lawsuit in New York federal court, seeking over $150,000 in damages and claiming that Welch’s “extensive social media following” was used to market the coin as an unregistered security. The suit also accuses the coin’s creators of failing to restrict purchases outside of the US, creating a speculative frenzy.
Welch herself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but her promotion of the coin on social media and podcast has been criticized. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban defended Welch, stating that she was unaware of the details of the project and trusted those around her.
The creator of the Web3 crypto launchpad platform overHere Ltd., Clinton So, has denied wrongdoing and defended Welch’s involvement in the project. OverHere claims to have taken zero fees and zero profit during the launch, but the lawsuit alleges otherwise. The suit also accuses Schultz, a musician and crypto promoter, of controlling token decisions and fees, before his “team vanished when things got hard”.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hawk-tuah-coin-lawsuit-crypto-b2668157.html