Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Fails to Meet $1 Million Minimum Fundraising Goal

TLDR

• McGregor’s REAL token raised only $392,000, far below the $1 million minimum target
• All bids will be refunded as the token failed to launch after its 28-hour presale
• Only 668 participants contributed to the fundraising effort
• The token was backed by major firms including Animoca Brands and KuCoin Labs
• Launch happened during a market downturn with the broader memecoin market cooling

Conor McGregor’s much-hyped entry into cryptocurrency ended with a disappointing thud as his REAL token failed to hit its minimum fundraising goal. The token, created by the Real World Gaming DAO (RWG), raised just $392,315 during its 28-hour presale period. This amount fell well short of the $1,008,000 minimum needed for a successful launch.

The team announced on social media that all bids would be refunded in full. “We need to be real. We didn’t hit our minimum raise,” they wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding, “This is not the end.”

We need to be real.
We didn't hit our minimum raise.
All bids will be refunded in full.
This is not the end.

— Real World Gaming (@getrealtoken) April 6, 2025

The token sale used a sealed-bid auction format designed to promote fairness and transparency. The team had set ambitious goals, hoping to raise up to $3.6 million by selling 60 million tokens at a starting price of $0.06 each.

Only 668 participants joined the fundraising effort. This low turnout came despite McGregor’s promotion of the token to his massive social media following, which includes 10 million X followers and nearly 47 million Instagram followers.

Celebrity Endorsement Falls Flat

McGregor had attempted to distance his project from other celebrity-backed tokens that have faced criticism or turned out to be scams. “This isn’t some celebrity-endorsed bullshit token, it’s a REAL game changer that will improve the crypto ecosystem as well as make REAL change in the world,” McGregor stated in a press release.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is REAL! https://t.co/uhBgjAHotX

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 6, 2025

The fighter-turned-entrepreneur promised the token would offer transparency, DAO voting rights, and potential use in the gaming ecosystem. These features were meant to differentiate it from other celebrity tokens that have failed in the past.

The token structure showed signs of long-term planning. The distribution included 31.5% for the DAO treasury, 16.5% for the community, 13.5% for seed investors, and 10% for the team. The remaining tokens were allocated to staking, sales, airdrops, and liquidity.

Some crypto community members remained skeptical despite these promises. On-chain investigator ZachXBT’s sarcastic response to the announcement received nearly three times as many likes as the original post.

Broader Market Troubles

The REAL token’s launch coincided with a difficult period for cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin has been falling, and U.S. stocks experienced an estimated $6.6 trillion loss on April 3 and 4 – the largest two-day loss ever recorded as President Trump’s tariff plans raised recession fears.

The memecoin market has been cooling off since January. The Libra token scandal involving Argentine President Javier Milei in February further pushed the trend downward.

The once-$100 billion memecoin market has now fallen below $44 billion and dropped 13% in the 24 hours before the failed launch, according to CoinGecko data. The Block’s GMCI Meme index, which tracks 25 leading memecoins by market cap, fell nearly 9% in the same period.

McGregor and the RWG had secured backing from major crypto firms. These included Animoca Brands, KuCoin Labs, Tezos Foundation, Algorand, and about 15 others. However, even with these backers, the token couldn’t gain enough momentum to reach its minimum fundraising target.

The token’s failure suggests a market shift away from celebrity-backed tokens. As hype wanes in the crypto space, investors appear to be placing more value on fundamentals than on famous endorsements.

RWG was originally known as Balthazar DAO before its involvement with McGregor. The project team has indicated that they plan to move forward in some capacity, but the token’s launch has been postponed for now.

All investors who participated in the bidding process will receive full refunds, as confirmed by the development team.