Pope-Inspired Meme Coin Surges, Crashes, and Sparks Frenzy After Sudden Vatican Shift

• After listings on many exchanges, POPE Coin spiked thousands of percent, only to drop drastically afterward, leaving some traders with heavy losses.
• The project says it is in support of the Catholic Church.
• LUCE and POPE tokens relating to papal succession narratives were lifted by meme coin speculation fuelled by Pope Francis’s death.

Just hours after Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, the launch of POPE Coin sparked speculation. Following the news, Gate.io and MEXC pounced to list the token, amplifying its rise so much that the token’s market cap even briefly peaked above $300 million. The hype was short-lived. CoinGecko’s data was removed, and CoinMarketCap reported its value as much lower at approximately $260,930.

According to Lookonchain, a trader who attempted to profit from the pump lost $111,000 in 5 minutes. Another unidentified wallet dumped tokens for a quick million-dollar profit, igniting accusations of insider behavior.

According to the coin’s website, this is “in support of the Pope and the Catholic Church,” adding that 35% of the coin’s max supply of 1 billion had been reserved for the Church. Out of 100 million tokens, public trading received 100 million, while 25% went to creators and marketing. The project’s slogan, “a meme coin so holy, it blesses every transaction,” fueled social media buzz.

The Papal Context and Crypto Speculation

The hype surrounding POPE tokens came after the historic occurrence of Pope Frank’s death. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born, died on April 21, 2025, aged 88. His papacy spanned a decade, focusing on social justice, the environment, and outreach to a global audience. He became the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit to hold the post.

The frenzy also stretched to the crypto space, as prediction platform Polymarket hosted bets on who would become the next Pope. Pietro Parolin secured nearly 30% of the votes and was followed by Luis Antonio Tagle, then Matteo Zuppi.

Alongside these bets, two trending tokens, POPE and LUCE, saw huge volatility. POPE surged by 770% before collapsing. The LUCE Coin surged by 134%  to $0.025 before the correction to $0.015. While the excitement is speculative, the Catholic Church has yet to issue any official statement regarding any affiliation with these coins.

This news comes as President Donald Trump’s controversial memecoin has gained traction. His campaign also promised a White House dinner and tour for top TRUMP Coin holders on April 23.

The move drew criticism from Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Lisa Murkowski. Lummis said giving access in exchange for financial contributions was inappropriate, while Murkowski said she would never charge constituents for Capitol access.

Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff went further, calling for President Trump’s impeachment for what he said was selling access for what are, effectively, payments directly to him. TRUMP Coin sparked concerns among ethics experts that it offers ways for foreign influence and direct funding of Trump himself.