Hawk Tuah Rug Pull, Explained

Key Takeaways

• $HAWK token collapsed by 93% within minutes, wiping out nearly all of its $490M market cap.
• Dogecoin was the first memecoin and remains widely used, unlike newer speculative memecoins like $HAWK.
• Bitcoin is hard money, backed by proof of work, decentralization, and fixed supply.
• memecoins are risky, with high volatility, no utility, and frequent scams.

In the 2022-2025 Bitcoin cycle, memecoins have exploded in popularity, attracting investors to quick gains. However, many of these tokens are rife with speculation, manipulation, or outright scams. 

A recent example is the $HAWK token, linked to Hailey Welch, better known as the “Hawk Tuah” girl. Upon the announcement, the token saw a spectacular price rise followed by a sudden crash, raising serious concerns about rug pulls in crypto.

This article explains what happened between Dogecoin and $Hawk, how rug pulls work, and why Bitcoin remains the ultimate hard money compared to risky memecoins.

The $HAWK Token: A Classic Rug Pull?

On December 4, 2024, the $HAWK token launched and quickly hit a $490 million market cap within 15 minutes. But just as fast, its value collapsed by over 93%, wiping out nearly all gains.

Why $HAWK Token Crashed?

While it’s still unclear whether this was a deliberate rug pull or just bad tokenomics, the result was the same, investors lost money while insiders profited. Here are some of the facts surrounding the coin:

• Centralized supply: 97% of the total supply was controlled by just ten wallets, with only 3% available for public sale.
• Presale dumping: 285 investors joined the presale, and 53% sold all or part of the share of tokens owned immediately, pocketing an estimated $3 million.
• Sniper bots: One wallet bought 17.5% of the supply within seconds, selling for $1.3 million.
• Misleading claims: Hailey Welch and the $HAWK team denied wrongdoing, but on-chain data suggests that many tokens were distributed for free to insiders who later dumped them.

What Is a Rug Pull? The $HAWK Case Explained

A rug pull occurs when a crypto project’s team suddenly sells off their holdings, causing the token price to crash and leaving retail investors with worthless coins.

In the case of $HAWK, the warning signs were clear:

• Low public supply: Only 3% of tokens were available for purchase, meaning prices could be easily manipulated.
• Mass early sell-offs: Insiders dumped their holdings right after launch.
• Unfair distribution: Many wallets that sold never actually bought tokens, suggesting investors given free tokens quickly dumped them later.

Despite Welch’s denial, blockchain data shows that most major sellers were never public buyers, a red flag for potential fraud.

Dogecoin: The First memecoin That Still Holds Value

Unlike $HAWK and other short-lived meme tokens, Dogecoin (DOGE) was the first memecoin and remains one of the most well-known. Created in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin was originally intended as a joke based on the dog in the Dogecoin logo, which is a Shiba Inu named Kabosu. 

What sets Dogecoin apart from $HAWK is its resilience—it has survived multiple market cycles and remains actively used for tipping, payments, and transactions. Additionally, Dogecoin benefits from merge-mining with Litecoin, which enhances its security by leveraging proof-of-work (PoW) mining. 

This PoW foundation gives Dogecoin a more decentralized and secure structure than newer memecoins that rely on centralized token distributions and hype-driven speculation.

While Dogecoin has no fixed supply, making it inflationary, it remains more stable and widely adopted than speculative tokens like $HAWK.

Dogecoin vs. $HAWK: What’s the Difference?

While both are memecoins, Dogecoin and $HAWK operate on very different principles:

Memecoins vs. Hard Money: Why Bitcoin Wins

Unlike memecoins, Bitcoin is hard money, a decentralized, proof-of-work-backed asset with real-world security.

What Makes Bitcoin Hard Money?

Bitcoin meets the five traits of sound money better than any memecoin:

• Durability: Bitcoin exists on a global, decentralized network that cannot be shut down.
• Portability: Bitcoin can be transferred anywhere in the world instantly.
• Divisibility: Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million satoshis per BTC.
• Scarcity: Only 21 million BTC will ever exist, making it deflationary.
• Acceptability: Bitcoin is recognized and held by major institutions, governments, and corporations.

Memecoins like $HAWK fail all five tests. They are inflationary (often printed in unlimited amounts), lack decentralization, and exist purely for speculation.

Memecoin OGs in Litecoin & Dogecoin: Are They Hard Money?

Litecoin (LTC) 

LTC has most recently identified itself as the ultimate memecoin based on Bitcoin’s proof of work system, which has a fixed supply of 84 million coins. 

While not as widely adopted as Bitcoin or as scarce as Bitcoin, Litecoin holds store-of-value properties and is the number one coin used for payments in the crypto industry.

Dogecoin (DOGE) 

DOGE also uses proof of work but has tokenomics that inflates the supply by , meaning it’s prone to inflation—making it less reliable as hard money. 

Dogecoin has a fixed inflation rate of 5 billion DOGE per year. Since there is no maximum supply cap, this means that Dogecoin is perpetually inflationary.

• Tokenomics:In 2024, the circulating supply is approximately
• Inflation rate: With 5 billion new DOGE added annually, the inflation rate is around 3.5% per year.
• Supply tokenomics: Over time, as the total supply grows, the inflation rate decreases in percentage terms.

Example: How Dogecoin’s Inflation Rate Decreases

Why Decreasing Inflation Matters—And What It Means for $HAWK

• Predictable supply: Unlike memecoins like $HAWK, where token allocations are manipulated, Dogecoin has a fixed and transparent issuance schedule.
• Lower long-term inflation: While 5 billion DOGE is a large number, the inflation rate is trending downward, making it less inflationary over time.
• Encourages spending: Unlike Bitcoin, which people tend to hold (HODL) due to its fixed supply, Dogecoin’s constant issuance makes it more suitable for daily transactions.

Pros & Cons of Investing in memecoins

The following pros and cons exist with hyped up memecoins like $HAWK:

Potential Benefits

• High short-term gains: Some memecoins pump rapidly, generating fast profits for early investors.
• Community-driven hype: Social media and influencers can push token prices higher.
• Low entry cost: Many memecoins launch at fractions of a cent.

Major Risks

• High volatility: Prices can drop 90%+ within hours, as seen with $HAWK.
• Lack of real utility: Most memecoins offer absolutely no real purpose beyond speculation.
• Scams and rug pulls: Insiders can dump tokens, leaving retail investors with worthless assets.

Conclusion

The $HAWK token collapse is a textbook example of why buying hyped up memecoins are risky. 

While memecoins are a very interesting development which will evolve over time, in 2025, memecoins can produce short-term gains, but lack real fundamentals of hard money like Bitcoin. With proven security, scarcity, and decentralization, Bitcoin remains the most reliable cryptocurrency for long-term investors.

Dogecoin, as the first memecoin, still holds some legitimacy due to its proof-of-work security and widespread adoption.However, most newer memecoins including $HAWK are short-lived, highly speculative, and prone to manipulation.

If a person is investing in crypto, understanding the difference between speculation and sound money is key. Bitcoin isn’t just another token it’s a financial revolution and separate to coins like Hailey Wenches’ $HAWK.

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