McGregor Token Misses Fundraising Goal as Meme Coin Momentum Slows
Two recent developments in the cryptocurrency market highlight the shifting dynamics of speculative trading: the failure of Conor McGregor’s REAL token launch to meet its fundraising target, and the continued but more cautious participation of top traders in the meme coin sector. While investor enthusiasm for celebrity-backed tokens and meme assets appears to be cooling, data suggests that experienced traders are still selectively engaging with short-term opportunities, even as broader market sentiment becomes more risk-averse.
Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Flops as Auction Falls Short: All Investors to Receive Full Refund
In a dramatic reversal for what was billed as a “game-changing” crypto project backed by former UFC champion and current Irish political candidate Conor McGregor, the REAL (REAL) token has failed to meet its minimum fundraising goal — triggering a full refund for all investors who participated in the auction.
The token sale, conducted by blockchain gaming firm Real World Gaming (RWG), raised just $392,315 in USDC over a 28-hour sealed-bid auction held on April 5 and 6 — falling well short of its $1 million minimum requirement and achieving only around 11% of its ambitious $3.6 million target. Only 668 participants joined the highly anticipated sale, despite the campaign's high-profile celebrity backing and aggressive promotional push.
“We need to be real. We didn’t hit our minimum raise,” RWG admitted in a candid post on X on April 6. “All bids will be refunded in full.”
Despite the setback, RWG remained optimistic about the future of the project: “This is not the end,” the team asserted in the same post.
The REAL token was touted by McGregor as a departure from the wave of low-effort celebrity tokens that have plagued the crypto industry in recent years. McGregor promised that the token wasn’t “some celebrity-endorsed bullshit” and that it would bring meaningful improvements to the crypto ecosystem and the real world alike.
Backed by McGregor’s persona and branding, the public sale offered 60 million REAL tokens — 3% of the total 2 billion token supply — at a starting bid of $0.06 each. At full subscription, the token was expected to command a fully diluted valuation of $120 million.
But the numbers never added up.
Despite the fanfare, the sale lacked traction. It’s unclear whether the failure was due to a lack of investor confidence, poor timing, or broader market forces — likely a combination of all three.
The REAL token launched into a turbulent market backdrop. Bitcoin, the bellwether of the crypto sector, saw a steep drop amid a wider financial rout, falling alongside US equities, which collectively lost an estimated $6.6 trillion over April 3 and 4 — the worst two-day performance in US stock market history.
Driving the downturn were mounting fears of a global recession as President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariff proposals. The shockwaves rippled through all risk-on markets, including crypto, just as the REAL auction went live.
Adding further headwinds was the fading hype around meme coins, which had surged through late 2024 and early 2025 following the explosive launch of the Official Trump token. But the trend has cooled considerably in recent weeks, especially after the LIBRA token scandal tied to Argentine President Javier Milei sent shockwaves through both political and financial spheres.
A Cautionary Tale in a Year of Celebrity Crypto Chaos
The failure of the REAL token raises fresh questions about the sustainability of celebrity-backed crypto projects — even those pitched with supposedly greater substance. While McGregor attempted to distance his offering from other celebrity token failures, the outcome mirrors a broader pattern seen throughout 2024 and into 2025.
Projects like LIBRA and other influencer-endorsed tokens have often sparked brief hype before collapsing or becoming entangled in controversy, eroding trust in an already skeptical segment of the market.
The sealed-bid format, while innovative, may have also discouraged participation among retail investors unfamiliar with auction-based sales, further dampening momentum.
For now, RWG is promising a comeback. “This is not the end,” the team reiterated — but how, when, and in what form a revised version of the REAL project may emerge remains to be seen.
As for McGregor, the outcome may complicate his ambitions to be seen as a serious force in the crypto space, even as he pursues political aspirations in Ireland. Whether the REAL token was just another failed experiment or a misfired launch with potential for redemption will depend on how the team — and the market — regroup in the months ahead.
Smart Money Still Eyes Meme Coins Despite Signs of Fading Supercycle
Meanwhile, despite mounting evidence that the explosive meme coin “supercycle” may be nearing its end, some of the cryptocurrency industry’s most successful traders continue to chase quick returns in the high-risk, high-reward world of meme coins.
Even as market sentiment turns cautious, blockchain intelligence data from Nansen suggests that the allure of fast profits remains too strong for top-performing wallets — known as “smart money” — to resist.
This ongoing interest comes amid a sharp cooldown in meme coin hype following a wave of disappointing token launches, including several tied to US President Trump.
While trading volumes and prices have dipped significantly, opportunistic traders continue to deploy capital in speculative plays, albeit with increased risk management.
Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, explained during a recent livestream on X that smart money wallets remain active in the meme coin sector, even if their behavior has become more nimble and reactive.
He added that the recent frenzy around meme tokens was treated more like a short-term play while the broader crypto market takes time to find its footing.
“The recent meme frenzy was just a fun play they worked on, while the broader market is sorting out the direction because meme coins aren’t necessarily affected by the same macroeconomy as Bitcoin and Ethereum,” he said.
That detachment from macroeconomic narratives has long made meme coins a unique playground for speculative traders, but cracks in sentiment have begun to show.
Even with fading enthusiasm, meme coins are still producing jaw-dropping returns — for now. One trader turned an initial $2,000 investment into a mind-bending $43 million using Pepe (PEPE), one of the most iconic meme coins in circulation.
Although the trader didn’t manage to exit at the peak — with PEPE falling over 70% from its all-time high — they still secured a realized profit exceeding $10 million. The success illustrates how, even in a declining market, early entrants and savvy exits can yield massive gains.
However, it also shows the volatility and unsustainability of such rallies, which often collapse before retail traders can capitalize.
A major inflection point for the meme coin market appears to have been the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token on Jan. 18. The token — which saw an initial surge to $75.35 — has since plummeted over 87%, now trading closer to $9, with an 8% drop recorded in just the past week, according to CoinMarketCap.
The Trump meme coin was intended to symbolize a new level of institutionalized meme speculation, coinciding with Trump’s political resurgence. But it may have had the opposite effect, triggering what some are calling the end of the meme coin “supercycle.”
Pump.fun, the Solana-based launchpad that powered much of the recent meme coin boom, saw a peak in user activity around the week of Trump’s inauguration. According to Binance Research, the platform was responsible for over 70% of newly launched tokens during the height of the frenzy.
But since that peak, active wallets have nearly halved — dropping from 2.85 million in the week of Jan. 20 to 1.44 million by the end of March.
A Supercycle in Decline
What was once a $100 billion market for meme coins has deflated dramatically. The sector has dropped below $44 billion in total market cap.
The collapse has been fueled not only by disillusionment over Trump-linked tokens, but also by broader macroeconomic uncertainty. The US economy has been rocked by historic volatility, with a record-setting $5 trillion wiped from global equities in early April amid fears over Trump’s aggressive tariff plans.
Such turbulence has driven investors to favor more conservative assets like stablecoins, with on-chain data showing a growing shift into USDC and other fiat-backed tokens.
Still, the speculative appetite that fuels the meme coin world hasn’t disappeared entirely — it's merely become more agile, more selective, and more wary.
While many analysts believe the meme coin supercycle has likely peaked, the nature of crypto markets makes it dangerous to write off the asset class completely. Historically, meme coins have shown a remarkable ability to return from the dead — often sparked by unexpected cultural moments, viral influencers, or new launch mechanisms.
For now, the smartest players in the game are still participating — but with faster fingers on the exit button.
McGregor Token Misses Fundraising Goal as Meme Coin Momentum Slows
Two recent developments in the cryptocurrency market highlight the shifting dynamics of speculative trading: the failure of Conor McGregor’s REAL token launch to meet its fundraising target, and the continued but more cautious participation of top traders in the meme coin sector. While investor enthusiasm for celebrity-backed tokens and meme assets appears to be cooling, data suggests that experienced traders are still selectively engaging with short-term opportunities, even as broader market sentiment becomes more risk-averse.
Conor McGregor’s REAL Token Flops as Auction Falls Short: All Investors to Receive Full Refund
In a dramatic reversal for what was billed as a “game-changing” crypto project backed by former UFC champion and current Irish political candidate Conor McGregor, the REAL (REAL) token has failed to meet its minimum fundraising goal — triggering a full refund for all investors who participated in the auction.
The token sale, conducted by blockchain gaming firm Real World Gaming (RWG), raised just $392,315 in USDC over a 28-hour sealed-bid auction held on April 5 and 6 — falling well short of its $1 million minimum requirement and achieving only around 11% of its ambitious $3.6 million target. Only 668 participants joined the highly anticipated sale, despite the campaign's high-profile celebrity backing and aggressive promotional push.
“We need to be real. We didn’t hit our minimum raise,” RWG admitted in a candid post on X on April 6. “All bids will be refunded in full.”
Despite the setback, RWG remained optimistic about the future of the project: “This is not the end,” the team asserted in the same post.
The REAL token was touted by McGregor as a departure from the wave of low-effort celebrity tokens that have plagued the crypto industry in recent years. McGregor promised that the token wasn’t “some celebrity-endorsed bullshit” and that it would bring meaningful improvements to the crypto ecosystem and the real world alike.
Backed by McGregor’s persona and branding, the public sale offered 60 million REAL tokens — 3% of the total 2 billion token supply — at a starting bid of $0.06 each. At full subscription, the token was expected to command a fully diluted valuation of $120 million.
But the numbers never added up.
Despite the fanfare, the sale lacked traction. It’s unclear whether the failure was due to a lack of investor confidence, poor timing, or broader market forces — likely a combination of all three.
The REAL token launched into a turbulent market backdrop. Bitcoin, the bellwether of the crypto sector, saw a steep drop amid a wider financial rout, falling alongside US equities, which collectively lost an estimated $6.6 trillion over April 3 and 4 — the worst two-day performance in US stock market history.
Driving the downturn were mounting fears of a global recession as President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariff proposals. The shockwaves rippled through all risk-on markets, including crypto, just as the REAL auction went live.
Adding further headwinds was the fading hype around meme coins, which had surged through late 2024 and early 2025 following the explosive launch of the Official Trump token. But the trend has cooled considerably in recent weeks, especially after the LIBRA token scandal tied to Argentine President Javier Milei sent shockwaves through both political and financial spheres.
A Cautionary Tale in a Year of Celebrity Crypto Chaos
The failure of the REAL token raises fresh questions about the sustainability of celebrity-backed crypto projects — even those pitched with supposedly greater substance. While McGregor attempted to distance his offering from other celebrity token failures, the outcome mirrors a broader pattern seen throughout 2024 and into 2025.
Projects like LIBRA and other influencer-endorsed tokens have often sparked brief hype before collapsing or becoming entangled in controversy, eroding trust in an already skeptical segment of the market.
The sealed-bid format, while innovative, may have also discouraged participation among retail investors unfamiliar with auction-based sales, further dampening momentum.
For now, RWG is promising a comeback. “This is not the end,” the team reiterated — but how, when, and in what form a revised version of the REAL project may emerge remains to be seen.
As for McGregor, the outcome may complicate his ambitions to be seen as a serious force in the crypto space, even as he pursues political aspirations in Ireland. Whether the REAL token was just another failed experiment or a misfired launch with potential for redemption will depend on how the team — and the market — regroup in the months ahead.
Smart Money Still Eyes Meme Coins Despite Signs of Fading Supercycle
Meanwhile, despite mounting evidence that the explosive meme coin “supercycle” may be nearing its end, some of the cryptocurrency industry’s most successful traders continue to chase quick returns in the high-risk, high-reward world of meme coins.
Even as market sentiment turns cautious, blockchain intelligence data from Nansen suggests that the allure of fast profits remains too strong for top-performing wallets — known as “smart money” — to resist.
This ongoing interest comes amid a sharp cooldown in meme coin hype following a wave of disappointing token launches, including several tied to US President Trump.
While trading volumes and prices have dipped significantly, opportunistic traders continue to deploy capital in speculative plays, albeit with increased risk management.
Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, explained during a recent livestream on X that smart money wallets remain active in the meme coin sector, even if their behavior has become more nimble and reactive.
He added that the recent frenzy around meme tokens was treated more like a short-term play while the broader crypto market takes time to find its footing.
“The recent meme frenzy was just a fun play they worked on, while the broader market is sorting out the direction because meme coins aren’t necessarily affected by the same macroeconomy as Bitcoin and Ethereum,” he said.
That detachment from macroeconomic narratives has long made meme coins a unique playground for speculative traders, but cracks in sentiment have begun to show.
Even with fading enthusiasm, meme coins are still producing jaw-dropping returns — for now. One trader turned an initial $2,000 investment into a mind-bending $43 million using Pepe (PEPE), one of the most iconic meme coins in circulation.
Although the trader didn’t manage to exit at the peak — with PEPE falling over 70% from its all-time high — they still secured a realized profit exceeding $10 million. The success illustrates how, even in a declining market, early entrants and savvy exits can yield massive gains.
However, it also shows the volatility and unsustainability of such rallies, which often collapse before retail traders can capitalize.
A major inflection point for the meme coin market appears to have been the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token on Jan. 18. The token — which saw an initial surge to $75.35 — has since plummeted over 87%, now trading closer to $9, with an 8% drop recorded in just the past week, according to CoinMarketCap.
The Trump meme coin was intended to symbolize a new level of institutionalized meme speculation, coinciding with Trump’s political resurgence. But it may have had the opposite effect, triggering what some are calling the end of the meme coin “supercycle.”
Pump.fun, the Solana-based launchpad that powered much of the recent meme coin boom, saw a peak in user activity around the week of Trump’s inauguration. According to Binance Research, the platform was responsible for over 70% of newly launched tokens during the height of the frenzy.
But since that peak, active wallets have nearly halved — dropping from 2.85 million in the week of Jan. 20 to 1.44 million by the end of March.
A Supercycle in Decline
What was once a $100 billion market for meme coins has deflated dramatically. The sector has dropped below $44 billion in total market cap.
The collapse has been fueled not only by disillusionment over Trump-linked tokens, but also by broader macroeconomic uncertainty. The US economy has been rocked by historic volatility, with a record-setting $5 trillion wiped from global equities in early April amid fears over Trump’s aggressive tariff plans.
Such turbulence has driven investors to favor more conservative assets like stablecoins, with on-chain data showing a growing shift into USDC and other fiat-backed tokens.
Still, the speculative appetite that fuels the meme coin world hasn’t disappeared entirely — it's merely become more agile, more selective, and more wary.
While many analysts believe the meme coin supercycle has likely peaked, the nature of crypto markets makes it dangerous to write off the asset class completely. Historically, meme coins have shown a remarkable ability to return from the dead — often sparked by unexpected cultural moments, viral influencers, or new launch mechanisms.
For now, the smartest players in the game are still participating — but with faster fingers on the exit button.