Pope Francis' Death on April 21, Drives Solana Memecoin $LUCE 159.8% Surge, Market Cap Reaches $25.8M

The Vatican announced the passing of Pope Francis on April 21 morning, ending the 88-year-old pontiff's 12-year tenure as head of the Catholic Church. Within hours, an unlikely ripple hit the crypto world: $LUCE, a Solana-based memecoin, surged 73% in value, pushing its market cap past $25.8 million.

Vatican News reported Pope Francis' death at around 8 AM UTC, with Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the camerlengo, confirming the news. The first Latin American pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, succumbed at 88 after battling double pneumonia, a condition that had recently confined him to recovery following a near-fatal bout earlier this year. His tenure, marked by progressive reforms and clashes with conservative factions, concluded amid Easter preparations, leaving the Church in mourning.

Shortly after the announcement, $LUCE—a memecoin on the Solana blockchain—began climbing. Data from DexScreener shows its price jumped from $0.009103 to $0.02365 within 1 hour, a 159.8% spike, with trading volume exceeding $10.5 million. By 8:40 AM UTC, its market cap crossed $25.8 million, according to Dexscreener.

The token, named $LUCE (Latin for "light"), draws inspiration from the Vatican's mascot unveiled to celebrate the upcoming Catholic Holy Year. Designed by Simone Legno, co-founder of the Italian pop culture brand tokidoki, $LUCE debuted on Binance Alpha in December 2024.

Earlier, on April 18, the token's price plummeted by roughly 70%, with liquidity woes or shaken confidence probably as culprits.

The news of the Pope's passing has led to a rapid emergence of several memecoins related to this event on the Solana.

Notably, the token $RIP POPE achieved a remarkable 1180% in 1 hour after Pope Francis' death was announced. Notably, $RIP POPE was created on February 16, 2025, coinciding with the Pope's hospitalization at Agostino Gemelli due to worsening bronchitis.