UFC star Conor McGregor’s crypto debut fell flat as his REAL memecoin raised only 31% of the targeted minimum presale amount before being called off.
The overly hyped memecoin raised just $392,000 in a 28-hour presale, falling 61% short of its $1 million minimum target. As a result, the project has been paused, and all presale bids have been refunded, according to the project’s website.
The presale used a sealed-bid auction format, aiming for transparency and fairness. The team, backed by the Real World Gaming DAO, had set out to raise $3.6 million and sell 60 million tokens (3% of total supply) at a starting price of $0.06 each.
However, with only 668 participants and less than half the minimum raise met, the sale couldn’t move forward. RWG notified investors that they will be refunded after failure to meet the minimum raise.
McGregor and his team had pitched the project as a more honest alternative to other celebrity-backed tokens, which have faced criticism and scams. He promised that the REAL token would be different, offering transparency, DAO voting rights, and possible use in the gaming ecosystem.
The token’s structure demonstrated long-term planning, with the DAO treasury receiving 31.5%, the community receiving 16.5%, seed investors receiving 13.5%, and the team receiving 10%. The remaining portion was distributed among staking, sales, airdrops, and liquidity. However, concerns regarding the team’s 10% stake were already being voiced.
Despite the efforts, the launch happened at a tough time for the market. The memecoin market is still reeling from high-profile scams like February’s LIBRA memecoin scandal. The REAL token’s failure shows that, in the current environment, celebrity endorsements are not enough to propel a project forward.
Investors seem to be more cautious, even with major backers like Animoca Brands and KuCoin Labs, particularly as the hype wanes and the importance of fundamentals gains prominence. The project will go forward in some capacity, according to McGregor’s team, but the token’s launch has been postponed for the time being.
