Just hours after Pope Francis died, 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.

Pope Francis's death at 88 sparked a flurry of activity, not just within the Church but also in the cryptocurrency realm.

The hype began with the launch of POPE Coin just hours after the news broke on April 21. Subsequently, Gate.io and MEXC listed the token, quickly adding fuel to its rise.

However, the token's market cap peaked at $300 million before the hype fizzled out.

Indeed, by the time CoinGecko removed the token's data, CoinMarketCap reported its value as much lower—approximately $260,930.

Moreover, one trader who attempted to profit from the pump lost $111,000 in 5 minutes, according to Lookonchain.

Another unidentified wallet dumped tokens for a quick million-dollar profit, igniting accusations of insider behavior.

The coin, created in support of the Pope and the Catholic Church, had 35% of its max supply of 1 billion reserved for the Church.

Out of 100 million tokens, 100 million went to public trading, while 25% went to creators and marketing. The project's slogan, "a meme coin so holy, it blesses every transaction," fueled social media buzz.

Papal Context and Crypto Speculation

The hype surrounding POPE tokens came after the historic occurrence of Pope Frank’s death.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, known as Pope Francis, died peacefully in his sleep on April 21 at the age of 88 after a period of ill health.

The Argentinian Jesuit’s papacy spanned a decade, during which he made significant contributions to the Church and the world.

He was best known for his strong social teachings, particularly on issues such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and nuclear weapons.

He also engaged in interreligious dialogue and reached out to the global community through his writings and speeches.

The papacy began in 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who had become the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to step down from the role.

During his papacy, optimism grew around the possibility of a woman being appointed a cardinal for the first time in the Church’s history.

Despite rumors circulating for years, no woman was appointed during his papacy. However, he did appoint 24 new cardinals from various countries, including six who were under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a papal conclave.

The papal 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, and 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.