Viral personality Haliey Welch has released her official token on the Solana blockchain, the latest in a long line of celebrity tokens floated on the network. Welch went viral earlier this year after using a "hawk tuah" onomatopoeia to describe a sexual act. "Hawk Tuah" quickly became a phase used for memes across social platforms — making Welch an overnight sensation from a minimum wage worker who didn’t even have an Instagram account. As often happens with memes, "hawk tuah" has found its way to the blockchain. Welch’s HAWK token went live on Solana-based exchanges at 22:00 UTC on Wednesday in partnership with overHere, a token launchpad. Minutes after HAWK began trading, its market cap soared to $491 million — and then it dove below $100 million. Welch previously distributed free tokens to her social media followers and supporters within the meme and NFT communities during a campaign held from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2. A statement shared with CoinDesk said Welch can't sell the HAWK tokens she got for one year and they will vest over three years. "Who doesn’t love a good meme?" Welch said in a prepared statement. "Becoming part of meme culture interested me in the world of crypto, and I've learned so much along the way. Launching my own token feels like the perfect next step — not just to create something meaningful for my fans but also to protect my community from scammers." HAWK is supported by a foundation in the Cayman Islands through complete legal compliance in the U.S. with hired directors on staff. It has raised money from a group of private non-U.S. investors at a $34.5 million initial valuation. Celebrity tokens became a short-lived rage within the Solana ecosystem earlier this year, with several niche and forgotten media artists releasing their tokens using Pump.Fun during a frenzied period in May. Most tokens ended up falling 99% in the days, or even hours, afterward. But Welch's team says it is in it for the long run, hoping to build a community around the token and her fans in a bid to make it a successful project in the long term. "Launching the $HAWK token creates a fun, secure and innovative way for Haliey to get even closer to her community," Jonnie Forster, Welch’s manager, said in a statement. "It not only empowers her fans but also eliminates the confusion posed by scammers who are constantly releasing unauthorized coins without approvals of her name and likeness."
