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3 weeks ago
A meme coin launched by viral influencer Haliey Welch of the "Hawk Tuah" fame became a subject of controversy on Wednesday after it pumped and dumped, eroding millions of dollars in market value in quick time.
What happened: HAWK, launched on Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based Meteora on Wednesday, swiftly gained a market valuation of almost $425 million before plummeting to $30 million within five hours, according to Dexscreener data.
As of this writing, the meme coin was valued slightly higher at $48 million, but still 90% down from the initial frenzy.
The sudden downfall sparked outrage in the cryptocurrency community.
An X user with the pseudonym JIGGA.5mbK revealed that their $35,000 investment in the coin was reduced to $2,000 after 10 minutes of buying.
"I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings," the user said.
The trader also alleged insider trading. "You didn't mention that you were going to buy 97% of the supply and sell it almost immediately to make a large profit."
