Conor McGregor Delays Meme Coin Launch After Failed Auction, Promises Early Relaunch
REAL Token Raises Just $392,000, Short of $1 Million Minimum, Forced to Refund Investors
UFC star and global icon Conor McGregor has postponed plans to launch his cryptocurrency token **REAL** after a 28-hour auction ended without reaching its minimum goal.
Developed by the Real World Gaming DAO (RWG), the token attracted just 668 investors, raising a total of $392,315 USDC—just 39% of the $1,008,000 minimum needed to launch the project. Shortly after the auction ended, RWG confirmed on X that the entire amount had been “automatically refunded,” and McGregor shared the announcement with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is REAL!”
Refunds Complete, Relaunch In Progress
On-chain data confirms that all refunds were processed via the “Settle” protocol to the rwg.eth wallet address at block 22212460, around 3:53 p.m. ET. The refund transaction used USDC on the Ethereum platform.
RWG told Decrypt that the launch was affected by “challenging macroeconomic conditions” and “distractions from the meme coin trend.” RWG representatives said they were “pausing to reassess their strategy” and would relaunch the project in the near future.
Not Your Average Meme Coin?
Prior to the launch, McGregor asserted that the REAL token was not “a celebrity-sponsored coin,” but “a real revolution for the crypto ecosystem.” However, many investors have viewed it as a token riding the meme coin wave, leading to misunderstandings and lack of confidence in the project's long-term goals.
RWG emphasized that calling it a "celebrity memecoin" is misleading and "does not reflect the true nature of the project."
The notable sealed-bid auction model
REAL token was deployed through a sealed-bid auction mechanism through the Axis Finance platform, to ensure fairness and transparency. This mechanism allows users to place anonymous bids, then the system automatically arranges and determines a common price for all winning bidders.
Despite ensuring the elimination of time advantage and reducing volatility after listing, this model still failed to establish a final payment price due to insufficient investor participation.
Declining confidence in celebrity-linked projects
REAL token's failure comes amid a recent slump in the meme coin market due to many scandals. Earlier this week, the official UFC Instagram account was hacked, promoting a fake Solana token, causing buyers to lose money as the price crashed 97% after the hacker dumped the tokens.
In addition, the impact of the new trade war between the US and the EU under President Donald Trump has also caused investors to be wary and withdraw from risky assets like crypto. Some experts have said that the REAL issuance has coincided with a “prolonged period of uncertainty,” especially when Trump announced a 20% tariff on Irish goods, prompting McGregor to publicly suggest that Ireland should consider leaving the EU.
The future of the REAL token
While the initial failure may have caused the project to lose momentum, the RWG team has said it is committed to restructuring and will soon relaunch REAL with a clearer strategy, completely separate from the “meme coin” label.
McGregor, who hinted at his ambitions to run for President of Ireland in March, maintained his “long-term commitment to blockchain technology” and believes REAL will “come back stronger.”