UFC champion and celebrity Conor McGregor’s crypto token failed to launch after raising only 39% of its minimum fundraising target during its 28-hour presale period that ended Sunday.
The token, developed by Real World Gaming DAO (RWG), secured just $392,315 in USDC from 668 bidders, falling far short of the $1,008,000 minimum requirement to proceed with the launch.
Following the auction’s close, RWG stated on X that it “didn’t hit” its minimum raise, adding that all the bids would be “refunded in full.” McGregor shared the announcement, saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is REAL!”
On-chain data shows that all refunds were processed, and a “Settle” batch transaction was deployed to the rwg.eth address at block 22212460 at around 3:53 PM Eastern time. All refund transactions were cleared using USDC over Ethereum.
Citing “challenging macroeconomic conditions” and the “distracting nature of the meme narrative,” RWG told Decrypt that it has decided to “pause and recalibrate” the token’s launch.
A spokesperson from RWG confirmed the refunds and told Decrypt that they are “looking to relaunch it soon.”
In a statement shared with Decrypt prior to the launch, the UFC fighter had insisted the launch wasn’t “some celebrity-endorsed bullshit token” but rather “a REAL game changer that will improve the crypto ecosystem.”
Sealed-bid auction
The REAL token used a sealed-bid auction mechanism through Axis Finance, designed to optimize price discovery by allowing participants to place private bids at their preferred price points.
Their use of Axis Finance “set a new benchmark” toward “fairness and transparency in token launches,” RWG claimed, responding to Decrypt’s questions.
After the auction period, the system sorted all 668 bids, allocating tokens to the highest bidders until it reached capacity. The final bid establishes a uniform clearing price for all winners using this mechanism.
While the method provided transparency, eliminated timing advantages, and reduced post-launch volatility, it failed to establish a clearing price.
Economic realities
The project’s initial failure signals waning investor interest in celebrity-backed tokens as the broader crypto market struggles amid global economic concerns triggered by President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs.
It didn’t help that the launch’s timing coincided with what observers claim as a “prolonged trade war,” with U.S. equities seeing record losses after the tariff announcements.
After President Trump launched an official meme coin in January, concerns over ethics and constitutional conflicts rocked the meme coin market.
Data from CoinGecko indicates that the meme coin market has shed some 10.9%, paring its market capitalization to $44.5 billion, down from over $100 billion at the start of this year.
In February, Argentine President Javier Milei launched another meme coin, resulting in fraud charges and investor lawsuits.
There had been “market confusion” from “interpreting the token as a celebrity memecoin,” RWG told Decrypt. “This framing does not represent the REAL token’s true purpose.”
McGregor, who has signaled intent to run as President of Ireland in March, had closely aligned with Trump’s economic agenda.
Following Trump’s announcement of 20% tariffs on Irish goods (compared to 10% on U.K. goods), McGregor suggested Ireland should consider leaving the European Union.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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