- Conor McGregor has refunded all investors in his failed “REAL” token project
- The refunds follow a presale that raised just $392,315—far short of its $1 million target
- The project collapsed amid poor market conditions and limited investor interest
Conor McGregor has issued full refunds to all 668 investors who backed his cryptocurrency project, “REAL,” after it failed to meet its fundraising goal. The presale brought in less than half of its intended $1 million, prompting the decision to return the money. The failure has been attributed to a mix of market volatility and growing skepticism around celebrity crypto ventures, with McGregor’s launch coming at what is looking increasingly like the end of the bull run.
A “REAL” Failure
Conor McGregor’s “REAL” token was launched on April 5, 2025, through a 28-hour sealed-bid auction. The token was designed to serve as an in-game utility token within the Real World Gaming (RWG) ecosystem, offering functionalities such as staking rewards and governance rights through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The presale aimed to distribute 60 million tokens—representing 3% of the total 2 billion supply—at a starting price of $0.06 per token, with the goal of raising $3.6 million.
Despite McGregor’s significant promotional efforts, the presale concluded with only $392,315 raised from 668 investors, falling short of the $1 million minimum target, suggesting that, like Donald Trump, projects headed by convicted rapists don’t necessarily male attractive investment opportunities. Despite his promotional efforts, including calling the coin “a REAL game changer,” McGregor’s celebrity status wasn’t enough to push the token past its funding goal.
Founders Blame “Challenging Macroeconomic Conditions”
The team attributed the shortfall to challenging macroeconomic conditions and misinterpretations of the token’s purpose, emphasizing that $REAL was intended as a serious Web3 project with real-world utility, not merely a celebrity-endorsed memecoin. Amazingly, the public saw through this sham for what it was, apart from a few dedicated dunderheads.
RWG cited “challenging macroeconomic conditions” as a key reason for the project’s downfall. During the token’s presale window, Bitcoin fell below $75,000, the U.S. stock market dipped sharply, and crypto enthusiasm cooled. This broader market slump heavily impacted investor appetite—even for a project backed by one of the world’s most recognizable athletes.
In a three-word response on social media, McGregor shared the refund news with fans:
This is $REAL! https://t.co/nwZKhjmFbA
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 7, 2025
The refunds, which have already taken place, were executed via the Ethereum blockchain in USDC, ensuring a transparent process. According to on-chain data, a “Settle” batch transaction was used to distribute the refunds from RWG’s wallet (rwg.eth) to all contributors.
This incident adds to the growing list of celebrity crypto experiments that have failed to deliver, reflecting a broader shift in investor sentiment. RWG has hinted at a potential relaunch in the future, but with market conditions still shaky and investor wariness high, any reboot may face an uphill battle.
