Pope-Inspired Memecoin Surges, Crashes, and Sparks Frenzy Over Sudden Vatican Shift

April 2025 has delivered one of the most surreal crypto spectacles in recent memory: the sudden rise and fall of POPE Coin. What started as a memecoin tribute to Pope Francis swiftly turned into a frenzied market gamble. Complete with rapid exchange listings, pump-and-dump drama, and moral questions around religion, speculation, and the blockchain.

Pope Francis’s Passing Sends Crypto Markets Into a Holy Frenzy

This chapter in crypto history began with Pope Francis's passing on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. Known for championing social justice, environmental causes, and bridging global religious divides, Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s death triggered both spiritual mourning and unexpected financial speculation.

Within hours of the Pope’s passing, POPE Coin was launched, with developers claiming it to be a tribute to “the Pope and the Catholic Church.” The memecoin market, already waiting for speculative tokens, responded with immediate intensity. POPE Coin listings appeared on Gate.io and MEXC, propelling the token into the spotlight and creating a massive price surge.

At its peak, POPE Coin’s market cap exceeded $300 million, an astonishing figure for a token with no official church endorsement. But as fast as it rose, the crash was even more brutal. According to CoinMarketCap, the coin’s value dropped to approximately $260,930, and CoinGecko removed its data entirely. This shows that even data aggregators like Coingecko saw that the token wasn't as sustainable as it looked. 

Traders Burned in the Blaze of Hype

The fallout was swift and punishing. According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, one trader lost $111,000 in five minutes, caught in the chaotic volatility. Meanwhile, another wallet cashed out early with over $1 million in profit, prompting accusations of insider trading and manipulation.

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Despite the controversy, the coin’s website struck a reverent tone. “A meme coin so holy, it blesses every transaction,” reads its tagline. Developers claimed that 35% of the total 1 billion POPE supply had been reserved “for the Church,” with 25% earmarked for creators and marketing, and 100 million tokens opened to public trading.

The Vatican or any church-affiliated institutions have issued no official statements regarding the token’s legitimacy or affiliation. However, this hasn’t stopped speculation or social media excitement.

Betting on the Next Pope: Riding the Meme Wave

The Vatican wasn’t the only arena where digital speculation exploded. On Polymarket, a decentralised prediction platform, bettors placed wagers on who would become the next Pope. The frontrunner as of April 22 was Cardinal Pietro Parolin, securing nearly 30% of votes, followed by Luis Antonio Tagle and Matteo Zuppi.

This papal transition narrative bled into the crypto charts. Alongside POPE Coin, a second token, LUCE, surged 134% to $0.025 before retreating to $0.015. Like POPE, LUCE used religious and institutional themes, though both are widely understood to be unofficial and speculative assets with no ties to the Holy See.

Still, the incidents show how real-world religious transitions, once confined to solemn reflection, are now fair game for financial speculation in the blockchain era.

When Memecoins Go Too Far

The POPE Coin story coincides with the rise of another politically charged token, the TRUMP Coin. The memecoin recently increased in price amid promises from Donald Trump’s campaign. The controversial promise? A White House dinner and tour for top TRUMP Coin holders is scheduled for April 23.

The offer was criticized by multiple lawmakers. Senator Cynthia Lummis called the access-for-crypto dynamic “deeply inappropriate,” while Senator Lisa Murkowski declared she would “never charge constituents to access the Capitol.” Senator Jon Ossoff went further, calling for Trump’s impeachment for what he framed as “selling political access for untraceable digital money.”

Ethics experts also warned that the TRUMP Coin could act as a conduit for foreign funding, unregulated influence, and direct contributions to a political figure outside traditional campaign finance structures.

A Meme Market With No Moral Compass?

In the wake of both TRUMP and POPE coin mania, crypto critics have grown louder. From exploiting political fandom to religious devotion, memecoins are increasingly viewed as opportunistic market vehicles, indifferent to ethics or public sentiment.

Yet the appeal persists. For many traders, the allure of fast profits outweighs the risks, moral or financial. In the absence of regulation, memecoins like POPE continue to blur the line between parody and recklessness.

As the dust settles from the POPE Coin rollercoaster, questions remain. Was this merely another example of meme culture run wild? Or does it mark a turning point where sacred institutions become yet another frontier for tokenized speculation? At the same time, lawmakers like Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff will continue to criticize the current US government, led by Trump, for its involvement in the crypto meme scene.