- After listings on many exchanges, POPE Coin spiked hundreds of %, solely to drop drastically afterward, leaving some merchants with heavy losses.
- The undertaking says it’s in help of the Catholic Church.
- LUCE and POPE tokens referring to papal succession narratives had been lifted by meme coin hypothesis fuelled by Pope Francis’s loss of life.
Simply hours after Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, the launch of POPE Coin sparked hypothesis. Following the information, Gate.io and MEXC pounced to checklist the token, amplifying its rise a lot that the token’s market cap even briefly peaked above $300 million. The hype was short-lived. CoinGecko’s knowledge was eliminated, and CoinMarketCap reported its worth as a lot decrease at roughly $260,930.
Based on Lookonchain, a dealer who tried to revenue from the pump misplaced $111,000 in 5 minutes. One other unidentified pockets dumped tokens for a fast million-dollar revenue, igniting accusations of insider conduct.
Do not FOMO commerce.
This man misplaced $111K on $POPE in beneath 5 minutes.
He spent 200K $USDC to #FOMO purchase $POPE, however proper after his buy, the value dropped sharply.
In a panic, he offered for simply $89K—burning $111K in minutes.https://t.co/R27uhqIzA4 pic.twitter.com/TkYXH5bPPc
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) Might 3, 2025
Based on the coin’s web site, this is “in help of the Pope and the Catholic Church,” including that 35% of the coin’s max provide of 1 billion had been reserved for the Church. Out of 100 million tokens, public buying and selling acquired 100 million, whereas 25% went to creators and advertising. The undertaking’s slogan, “a meme coin so holy, it blesses each transaction,” fueled social media buzz.
The Papal Context and Crypto Hypothesis
The hype surrounding POPE tokens got here after the historic incidence of Pope Frank’s loss of life. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born, died on April 21, 2025, aged 88. His papacy spanned a decade, specializing in social justice, the atmosphere, and outreach to a worldwide viewers. He grew to become the primary pope from Latin America and the primary Jesuit to carry the put up.
The frenzy additionally stretched to the crypto area, as prediction platform Polymarket hosted bets on who would change into the following Pope. Pietro Parolin secured practically 30% of the votes and was adopted by Luis Antonio Tagle, then Matteo Zuppi.
Supply: Polymarket
Alongside these bets, two trending tokens, POPE and LUCE, noticed enormous volatility. POPE surged by 770% earlier than collapsing. The LUCE Coin surged by 134% to $0.025 earlier than the correction to $0.015. Whereas the joy is speculative, the Catholic Church has but to concern any official assertion concerning any affiliation with these cash.
This information comes as President Donald Trump’s controversial memecoin has gained traction. His marketing campaign additionally promised a White Home dinner and tour for high TRUMP Coin holders on April 23.
The transfer drew criticism from Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Lisa Murkowski. Lummis mentioned giving entry in change for monetary contributions was inappropriate, whereas Murkowski mentioned she would by no means cost constituents for Capitol entry.
Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff went additional, calling for President Trump’s impeachment for what he mentioned was promoting entry for what are, successfully, funds on to him. TRUMP Coin sparked considerations amongst ethics specialists that it provides methods for international affect and direct funding of Trump himself.
