“Not just a cash grab,” Haliey Welch aka the Hawk Tuah girl insisted while discussing her meme coin with ‘Fortune’. She wanted to change people’s views on crypto, but it looks like things quickly went south. The digital coin rapidly hit a $490m market cap after it was launched on December 4 but within two hours, the token price took a nosedive and lost 90% of its cap, reaching well below $60 million!

It seemed for a while that the latest “fun, secure, and innovative way” for her to get closer to the community was working. But when fans saw a sharp decline, they felt like they were victims of ‘pump and dump’, where the people behind a coin hype up its price before launch, then sell it for profit. What does Welch have to say about this and why are people calling out Jake Paul?

Welch wasted no time issuing a public statement. She explained that she had no control over the management of the token. In a tweet, she also wrote:

“Hawkanomics: Team hasn’t sold one token and not 1 KOL was given 1 free token We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fee’s in the start of launch on @MeteoraAG Fee’s have now been dropped.” However, these clarifications didn’t sit well with the fans, as some even launched a lawsuit against her.

Take YouTube cryptocurrency investigator Coffeezilla (Stephen Findeisen) for instance, who accused Welch of pump and dump and also stated: “Unfortunately with situations like this, they’re not targeting crypto bros, they’re mostly targeting actual fans who have never been involved in the crypto space before.”

“These people were unwilling to take any accountability” for what happened, claimed the YouTuber, who also shared a clip of him speaking to some of the people behind the cryptocurrency.

Amidst all the backlash, Jake Paul has been dragged into the issue because of his connections with Haliey Welch. What did they say about ‘The Problem Child’?

Fans blast Jake Paul for his supposed involvement…

People know that Paul and Welch are connected. After all, before his fight against Mike Tyson, Paul was on the Talk Tuah Podcast with Haliey Welch, where he told her his entrance for the Tyson fight would be partly inspired by the legend’s boxing career. “The song is sort of related to Mike Tyson’s career and a film that he did,” Paul had shared. Owing to Paul’s connection with Welch, fans suspected he was in on this:

• “Hailey Welch aka Hawk Tuah is a business partner with Jake Paul’s sports betting and media company, Betr . I see some people getting into the Hawk Tuah meme coin and realized that yall crazy lol #cryptocurrency #crypto.”
• “Hawk Tuah girl had no clue what was going on, I can guarantee Jake Paul’s company is behind the token and the rug pull. She would have absolutely no clue how it would work and they used her as the sacrificial lamb. $HAWK #HawkTuah.”

Betr is a sports betting platform created by the 27-year-old, which has also sponsored MVP events, increasing its reach and popularity. Here’s the thing: Reports from September state that Welch signed with Paul’s media company to launch her podcast, which is now a part of Paul’s Betr content network.

• “You dumb people surprise Hawk Tuah girl scammed people she had ties with Jake Paul people lol.”

Paul and Joey Levy founded Betr in 2022 and the company has ties with podcasts like ‘BS with Jake Paul,’ ‘Twin Talk with Hanna and Haley Cavinder,’ ‘Nickals and Dimes,’ and ‘Caps Off.’ Welch’s podcast only added to Betr’s growing popularity and in fact, head of Betr media, Mike Denevi, stated:

“Haliey Welch is a bona fide superstar, and her charisma, unique perspective and innate connection with her audience make her the perfect fit for our platform. Talk Tuah will bring a fresh and dynamic voice to our content lineup, and we can’t wait for our audience and brand sponsors to connect with Haliey in an authentic way that embodies the ethos of Betr Media as a whole.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, Welch was happy to join Betr. This connection between the two internet celebrities led people to drag Jake Paul into the meme coin issue.

• “It’s unfortunate hawk tuah, probably should have seen the VC culture before signing up with Jake Paul and getting all these celebs on her podcast. They go for Hyper Growth thats the game plan, unfortunately like lambs to a slaughterhouse. She’s been got.”
• “Hawk Tuah Girl (@HalieyWelchX) works under @betr (owned by Jake Paul). Of course she was going to rip you idiots off. It’s always the same people.”

However, Welch isn’t the only well-known face who has received this kind of criticism. Many celebrities who have ventured into the crypto market have received similar reactions. For example, in 2021, Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26 million. Why? She had not disclosed that she was paid to post about a cryptocurrency scheme called EthereumMax.

Further, even Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, was also accused of misleading his followers after he promoted crypto without mentioning his financial interests in it.

What do you make of this situation concerning Hawk Tuah Girl and the alleged connection with Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments below.