After remaining silent for several months during an investigation into her involvement in a cryptocurrency controversy, Haliey Welch recently resurfaced. However, despite being cleared of wrongdoing, she is facing silence once again.
Known to the public as the ‘Hawk Tuah girl’, the Tennessee-born viral star has had her Twitter account suspended. The exact reason for the 22-year-old’s suspension from the social media platform has not been disclosed.
Visiting her Twitter page reveals a blank profile picture and cover photo, accompanied by the message ‘Account suspended’, with the explanation ‘X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules’ displayed underneath.
To refresh our memories, let’s recapitulate the details of Welch’s controversy.
She gained fame in June 2024 after a street interview where she coined the phrase ‘hawk tuah spit on that thang’. Her rising popularity led a group of crypto experts to contact her, resulting in the launch of her own meme coin, ‘$HAWK token’.
On December 4, in less than 20 minutes, the value of her cryptocurrency meme coin dropped by nearly $450 million.
Many fans reported losing their entire life savings in less than the time it takes to watch an episode of The Simpsons. Haliey Welch and the creators of the ‘$HAWK token’ faced accusations of orchestrating a ‘rug pull’.
This term refers to the act of cryptocurrency creators selling off their holdings, causing the price to crash and leaving investors with coins worth very little.
The value of Welch’s cryptocurrency fell from approximately $490 million to just $41 million, with some reports indicating it lost over 95 percent of its value on its launch day.
Investors who faced financial losses initiated legal action against the crypto team involved in the alleged ‘rug pull’, though Welch herself was not sued.
Tuah The Moon Foundation, responsible for the meme coin’s finances, OverHere Ltd, the coin’s creator, and Clinton So, an executive at OverHere, were named in the lawsuit along with Alex Larson Schultz, the coin’s promoter.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently launched an investigation into the meme coin. Welch’s lawyers have confirmed that she will not face any charges from the investigation.
James Sallah, Welch’s attorney, stated: “The SEC closed the investigation without making any findings against, or seeking any monetary sanctions from, Haliey.
“Because they did not bring any action against her, there are no restrictions on what she can do in regards to crypto or securities in the future.”