Hawk Tuah girl details crypto scandal in tearful Talk Tuah episode leak
YouTube: TalkTuahPodHaliey Welch has finally detailed her account of the Hawk Tuah cryptocurrency token scandal in a podcast recording that leaked two months after the debut of the project. Welch admitted she’s “horrified” of the coin and that it ‘didn’t go to plan’ whatsoever.
On December 4, 2024, Welch, of ‘Hawk Tuah’ meme infamy, released her very own crypto token named $Hawk. Almost immediately, however, the situation went south as the value of the coin plummeted. Many were quick to label it a “rug pull,” wherein, early investors make out big while new fans buying in are left shortchanged.
Welch later apologized to her fans and assured she’s working to “help uncover the truth,” though ever since this scandal, Welch has been a ghost across social media. The personality who was once everywhere, hasn’t posted in 65 days, even halting her ‘Talk Tuah’ podcast in the process. However, that’s now changed as Welch has spoken directly on the situation for the very first time.
A podcast recorded with FaZe Banks, crypto streamer Threadguy, and popular crypto personality Frank Degods (real name Rohun Vora), leaked online on February 6, 2025. This episode was recorded with the intention of being a comeback of sorts for Welch, however, the recording spilled out online early, infuriating the FaZe owner.
Dexerto has seen the full podcast and below is a breakdown of the crypto scandal from Welch’s account, along with insight from her lawyer Christian Barker.
Haliey Welch details origins of $Hawk crypto token
The podcast, originally titled ‘My Crypto Failure,’ unearthed the original plan for the crypto token along with Welch’s involvement, or more accurately, the lack thereof.
“How this idea got brought to me, it was supposed to be a ‘long term coin,’” Welch explained. Admitting to her lack of knowledge in the space, she claimed to put all her trust in “the guy that came up with the idea,” as he was a “friend of a friend.”
Initially hesitant on getting involved, as she was again stressed she was unfamiliar with the space, the “positive,” community-oriented pitch is what sold her on the idea.
“We’re gonna change the way everyone thinks of crypto,” the creator allegedly said to her. Though in hindsight, she claimed trusting this individual was her “biggest mistake.”
On paper, Welch claimed it was all “supposed to be done the right way.” Half of the money generated from the token was “supposed to go to my charity. That’s why I agreed to do it. It was brought up to be a positive thing.”
Welch was paid $125,000 USD upfront before the crypto coin even launched. This amount was for her image and likeness, effectively to make her the face of the token. Beyond that, she was then supposed to be paid $200,000 USD “within 30 days after the launch of the coin,” her lawyer revealed. That sum still hasn’t been paid to this date, they claimed.
As for the crypto itself, there was a mutually agreed upon split of the digital currency. At launch, there was set to be 10% of the allocation deployed, with the remaining 90% locked for future releases. The plan was for the rest to be “dripped” out over the following three years.
Of that 10%, half was meant to go to the company that developed the crypto token, with the other half to Welch directly. Ultimately, that’s not what happened.
Hawk Tuah crypto token’s launch explained
“The day of the launch, [the trusted friend] was a little weird about it,” Welch said. From the early hours of December 4, she had a feeling something wasn’t quite right.
At launch, the truth of the coin’s development and it’s initial release came to light. Just three percent of the token was made available for trading upon release. However, 17% was given to “pre-sale investors.”
$2.8 million was raised by these early investors for their collective 17% share in the token. On day one, “two-thirds” of that 17% sold off their entire investment for a quick profit.
Welch was none of the wiser. Today, 20% of the token remains in circulation, though it value has plummeted considerably. The lone developer of the project controls the remaining 80%, though allegedly no one on Welch’s team has been able to track them down. All they know is that he’s based in San Francisco.
Haliey Welch admits shortcomings in launch of $Hawk crypto token
As Banks and co. reminded Welch on the podcast, what’s happened has happened and will remain visible on the blockchain forever. There’s no sweeping this situation under the rug. For that, Welch remained apologetic, tearfully expressing sympathy for her supporters who were impacted by the initial dump from early investors.
“I feel really bad about all the people that got affected by it. It just didn’t go the way I planned.”
“I’m still a little shook up about it,” she added. To this day, she remains “scared” to even so much as look at her crypto wallet. “I’m horrified of it.”
Ultimately, she accepted responsibility for what’s happened, saying she “messed up” when it came to not fully trusting the team around her at the time.
“We’re trying to sort it out and make everything right… Oh my god, I’m gonna cry.”
“If you have no business in crypto, you probably shouldn’t be in crypto,” Banks said. “I agree,” Hailey replied without hesitation.
Making amends
At the time of the recording, Banks, Threadguy, and Frank Degods laid out a plan for rectifying the situation, at least to the best of her ability given the circumstances.
Degods suggested every dollar Welch made from the token should be invested right back on the crypto market and when done, she simply washes her hands of the situation.
By essentially returning the $125,000 USD she was paid prior to the coin’s launch, they argued Welch could positively support other investors in her community by helping raise the value of their investment in $Hawk.
As for whether Welch follows this plan, however, there’s no quite telling just yet. However, as of the time of writing, the podcast has leaked on conditions Banks and his crew didn’t agree to, putting a spanner in the works for their intended outcome.
“Very clearly her team was not as solid as they claimed to be,” Banks explained on February 6, 2025. “They completely blew it. Now today, the episode ‘randomly’ gets leaked. The price of $Hawk is pumping and they completely f**king fumbled the bag, yet again.
What a f**king mess. Poor girl, it’s a wonder how she found herself in this position in the first place.”
As for Welch’s return to the spotlight, there’s no quite telling what her next steps may be. Regarding her Talk Tuah podcast, she admitted on the show only one sponsor remained by her side throughout the ordeal, with all others parting ways.
It’s yet unclear when Welch will release the podcast officially, if at all, nor when she may return to social media in full.