On April 21, Catholic News Service Rome reported that Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. that day. Cardinal Farrell, spokesman for the Vatican, announced the sad news. Surprisingly, this incident caused a stir in the cryptocurrency market. GMGN data showed that the price of LUCE, a representative of the old Pope-themed Meme coin, soared by 70% in a short period of time, and its market value once exceeded 15 million US dollars. Although it fell back later, it still remained at 13.87 million US dollars. This unusual movement of LUCE makes people ask: Can the death of the Pope really become an opportunity for LUCE to usher in a new life?
Looking back at the recent price trend of LUCE, it can be said to be ups and downs. On April 19, the price of LUCE tokens plummeted by 74.54% in a single day, and the market value shrank rapidly from tens of millions of dollars. On-chain data revealed that an early whale account originally had a floating profit of 5.2 million US dollars, but because it did not sell in time, it eventually lost 335,000 US dollars. On the same day, MANEKI, JELLYJELLY, AIDOGE and other meme tokens also flash crashed simultaneously, causing widespread heated discussions in the market. Since then, the price of LUCE has stabilized at around US$0.00887, but it remains on the Binance Alpha list, seemingly waiting for a new turn.
Community members have analyzed the flash crash on the 19th. At 4:07 a.m., community contributor Lavanda Garrison said in the official Telegram community that the community takeover team (CTO) has not yet found out the cause of the flash crash, and initially suspected that it was caused by a large-scale shipment. At 4:42, community member @berly_off pointed out that the time and method of selling LUCE, MANEKI and AIDOGE were very similar, and it was speculated that they may share a market maker. These tokens are listed on large exchanges such as OKX or Bybit, and there is a possibility of entering the market through large-scale selling by market makers. Similar situations have also occurred in tokens such as ACT and HIPPO listed on Binance. At 22:47 on the same day, the LUCE CTO officially posted a message on the X platform, characterizing the cause of the crash as price manipulation caused by the shipment of giant whales, and emphasized that although the token price was frustrated, the community's confidence has not been shaken.
Looking back at the timeline, LUCE has attracted much attention since its birth. On October 29, 2024, the LUCE token was released on the Solana chain. Its creative inspiration came from the Vatican’s two-dimensional mascot "Luce" (Italian for "light") designed for the Holy Year of 2025. This unique design that combines religious symbols with subculture quickly caught the public's attention. The Luce mascot was created by the well-known designer Simone Legno. The image combines the symbolic meaning of the Latin word "light" with youthful elements: holding a pilgrim's cane, boots covered in mud, and eyes shining with hope, aiming to attract Generation Z to pay attention to Catholic culture.
The developers cleverly took advantage of the situation and transformed religious sentiment into a capital narrative. The token was created with only 2 SOL (about $130) and launched on the Pump.fun platform, and all 1 billion tokens were circulated. The day after the launch, the market value of LUCE soared to $53 million within 12 hours, and the trading volume exceeded $116 million. On-chain data showed that the developer sold 67.06 million LUCE for 2.73 SOL, making a profit of 0.73 SOL (about $130). At this time, the market value of the token had exceeded $2 million, showing early signs of control.
Since then, LUCE has quickly become a dual symbol of "religion + wealth". In Telegram groups, the slogan "Faith is wealth" and the cartoon image of LUCE are widely circulated, and companion tokens such as Santino (puppy) and Holy Mary (Virgin Mary) have also been derived to form a complete narrative matrix. By November 2024, the price of LUCE rose from $0.0275 to $0.07196, a weekly increase of 65.44%. The market value once exceeded $77 million, ranking among the top 800 cryptocurrencies by market value.
The market environment at the time also contributed to the popularity of $LUCE. Market sentiment was high, and the high performance of the Solana chain became an important booster - its low transaction fees (about $0.00025) and high throughput (65,000 transactions per second) allowed retail investors to trade frequently; the Pump.fun platform simplified the token issuance process, allowing developers to launch new coins in a few minutes. Data shows that in 2024, more than 3,000 meme coins were born on the Solana chain every day, of which 70% were created through Pump.fun, with an average life cycle of only 3 days. LUCE has achieved relative "longevity" with its unique religious narrative and active community. Community members even made a "pilgrimage route map" to bind token price fluctuations to the countdown to the holy year, claiming that "when the holy light shines in 2025, coin holders will receive a tenfold return", further boosting its popularity.
Now, with the passing of the Pope, a new batch of Meme coins have emerged in the market. In addition to the coin with the same name, there are also new coins that mock US Vice President JD Vance as the Pope Killer, trying to capture market heat and liquidity. It is amazing that Meme coins still continue their characteristics of being borderless, consuming everything and capitalizing all attention.
Meanwhile, other dynamics in the crypto market are also worth watching. Bitcoin is currently in the second stage of its rise, having reached the 0.382 position of the first stage of its rise, and is now facing the test of the daily MA200 and previous high pressure levels. From a technical analysis perspective, after a long period of sideways consolidation, Bitcoin has successfully broken through the 86,000-line pressure and continued to rise. It is currently testing the key resistance area above 88,500. The overall structure is relatively strong, and the short-term bullish momentum is obvious. However, the RSI (14) indicator has risen to 70.92, entering the overbought zone. Although there has been no divergence, the subsequent trend still needs to be closely watched. If it stands firmly at 88,800 and is accompanied by a large volume, it can be long; if it falls back to 86,000 without breaking, it is an opportunity to buy at a low price; if it fails to break through and falls below 86,000, it is necessary to be wary of false breakthroughs that may trigger a decline.
As for altcoins, when the market situation slightly picks up, the trends of various currencies have their own characteristics.$SOL For example, every time the market rises, it will act as a pioneer, rising before Bitcoin and adjusting before Bitcoin, often playing a role in the end of the market. However, before the market liquidity problem is solved, it is difficult for altcoins to rise generally. Investors should avoid blindly expanding their risk exposure, mainly operating in the mid-term band, and stop when they see good results. At present, although some altcoins have shown signs of bottoming out, there is still a risk of fraud. It is recommended to choose leading coins in popular sectors, such as sol,$RAY 、$PEPE wait .
There are currently two mainstream views on the future market trend. One view is that the rebound may turn into a reversal, based on changes in the relationship between long-term holders (LTH) and short-term holders (STH), the supply and demand relationship between stablecoins and Bitcoin, and the double anchor effect formed by high and low chip concentration areas. For example, when the profit ratio of long-term holders drops significantly and losses occur, the market tends to be close to a stage low; and when short-term holders turn from losses to profits, it usually means that market confidence has recovered and the trend may reverse. Another view is that the current rebound is the second distribution after accumulation. This view is mainly based on the macroeconomic situation. It is believed that the increased inflation caused by tariffs may lead to stagflation and accelerate economic recession. The US stock market has entered a technical bear market. Bitcoin will be difficult to remain immune and will be dragged down by the US stock market. Judging from the price and trading volume of U.S. stocks, their trend conforms to the characteristics of the Wyckoff-Distribution stage, indicating that the bull market in U.S. stocks has ended and will enter a bear market next. It will not be possible to turn from bear to bull until the last support point is found.
In the crypto market, a field full of variables and opportunities, whether it is the unexpected fluctuations of LUCE, the trends of Bitcoin and altcoins, or the market's disagreement on future trends, they all remind investors to remain rational and cautious. Behind every market fluctuation, there are complex factors hidden. Only by in-depth analysis and calm judgment can we better seize opportunities and avoid risks in this wave of cryptocurrency. What do you think of these phenomena and trends in the current crypto market? Welcome to share your views in the comment area!
