Hawk Tuah girl vanishes, no response over court case – What’s the next in-danger memecoin project?

The Hawk Tuah girl, Haliey Welch, achieved fame from a 7 seconds street video clip. She packed her bags, quit her job, and moved to LA, California, to become a celebrity. It looks like she has had to pack her bags back as quickly as she came. 

Here is a quick timeline: a Hawk Tuah video, a bunch of podcasts and high-end parties, a crypto project, a court case, and a disappearing act. It looks like all fun and games until investors realize this is how every celebrity-backed memecoin or crypto project has left them high and dry.

As Cryptopolitan reported yesterday, the Hawk Tuah girl and those behind the ill-fated launch have been sued. This comes after the $HAWK token lost all its value in one day.

Who was caught up in the mix? The Cayman Islands-based organization, which raised funds through token sales, along with creator OverHere Ltd., executive Clinton So, and promoter Alex Larson Schultz.

Plaintiffs accused the team behind the whirlwind crypto sale that exploited Welch’s celebrity position to generate a “frenzy.” They claim they took advantage of first-time crypto investors. They are also demanding damages of more than $150,000, but they are also open to any other amount the court may deem appropriate.

A new era of failed celebrity crypto projects 

As reported by The Sun, Haliey Welch appears to have gone underground. Welch has not been seen publicly, and she has not posted on social media for weeks since the scandal.

Fans claim she has gone MIA as she has also not released a new episode of her weekly podcast, Talk Tuah, for the past two weeks. Her last Instagram post promoting the show was on December 3.

Welch initially told Fortune that her memecoin was “not just a cash grab” and that she had revised her opinions on crypto in recent months after gaining more knowledge on the subject.

BREAKING:

HAILEY WELCH ANNOUNCES SHE IS GOING TO BED WHEN THE PANEL IS ASKED HOW MUCH THEY WERE PAID. pic.twitter.com/iW4R7vGSuZ

— Mr. Frog, (Road to Redemption Arc) (@TheMisterFrog) December 5, 2024

At that time, her manager, Jonnie Forster, maintained that they were only distributing free tokens to social media followers who bought her merchandise and were not encouraging people to purchase them outright. Was that the case, though?

Hawk Tuah’s failed crypto project is just the tip of the iceberg. This year alone, investors have suffered losses from failed celebrity projects. Is it that investors can’t pick out good projects to invest in? Or is their blind trust in celebrities their pending doom? 

Fame to failure – Celebrities go wrong on crypto 

Let’s run the list. Celebrities hop from one movie project to the next. One talk show to the next. One scandal to the next. Now, it’s crypto projects, crypto exchanges, and memecoins – as long as they are being paid. 

Andrew Tate. Have you heard of him? He swore other celebrities were on a scam rut and he wasn’t. The “Masculinity” influencer launched his Solana-based memecoin, Daddy Tate (DADDY), aiming to replicate the success of Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token. 

Well, it appears he is like the rest. DADDY has suffered many pump-and-dumps and remains far below its launch price.

Next to Nigeria. Davido, an internationally recognized Afrobeat artist, debuted his memecoin Davido (DAVIDO) on the Solana blockchain on May 29. Davido earned 7.5 SOL eleven hours prior to launch. He created DAVIDO on Pump.fun and paid 7 SOL for 203 million DAVIDO tokens, accounting for 20.3% of the total supply.

Shortly after the token’s price surged, he sold all of his holdings, flipping 7 SOL for $500,000. Following the dump, DAVIDO lost all value.

Then comes Hollywood’s Cardi B, Jason Derulo, and Caitlyn Jenner. Derulo accused Sahil Arora, a crypto influencer and controversial memecoin co-creator, of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme for his own profit. Jenner piled on, also blaming Arora.

In Cardi’s case, the UAE wouldn’t take any chance with its citizens being scammed. Investigations have been opened into her WAP token.

Should you worry about PNUT? 

Well, the fight over PNUT continues, and the price does not look too good. PNUT could be the next HAWK on the list. PNUT has gained support and market recognition following its ties to Donald Trump, Make America Great Again (MAGA), and Elon Musk. 

The token initially gained traction after being listed on Binance, but has since seen fluctuating performance. 

Soon after that, Mark Longo, owner of the Peanut the Squirrel brand, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Binance, accusing the platform of trademark infringement in relation to its PNUT-themed memecoin.

After that, the price tanked. On-chain data from CoinMarketCap shows that PNUT is down over 25% in one day alone. What could go wrong?

Longo has accused the PNUT community of exploiting his story for financial gain. In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), Longo stated, “The $PNUT community USED MY STORY, MY SQUIRREL, AND MY LIKENESS TO MAKE MILLIONS!”

Now, it looks like not many are interested in the coin anymore.

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