Hailey Welch, known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl," launched her $HAWK meme coin on December 4, 2024, on the Solana blockchain. Initially soaring to a market capitalization of $500 million, the coin's value plummeted by 88% to $60 million within minutes. This crash sparked accusations of a "pump and dump" scheme, where early insiders allegedly profited at the expense of investors. Welch denied these allegations, claiming her team did not sell tokens and that high initial fees aimed to prevent market manipulation. Fans voiced outrage online, with some reporting significant personal financial losses.