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In the latest chapter of 2024: a memecoin inspired by Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the sensational shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is mooning in value. Yes, you read that correctly: a cryptocurrency named after a man accused of murder has now a $29 million market cap. A cryptocurrency trader somewhere is popping champagne now having earned a fortune because someone got assasinated.
Just days after Thompson was fatally shot on a Manhattan sidewalk, the aptly named $LUIGI meme coin (because tragedy deserves branding, apparently) emerged from the shadows of the internet. Its valuation skyrocketed, proving once again that the crypto world knows no boundaries or shame.
From Headlines to the Blockchain
Let’s set the stage. Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down last Wednesday outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where he was planning to speak at an investor conference. The crime, described as “premeditated and targeted” by police, sent shockwaves through the city.
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The main suspect? Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old computer science whiz with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Police arrested Luigi days later in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Found with a silencer-equipped firearm and a manifesto lambasting corporate America, Mangione quickly became the latest subject of a true-crime media frenzy. Naturally, the internet did what it does best: memed the tragedy into oblivion.
Enter the memecoin. With its value now pegged to a suspect in one of the year’s most high-profile murders, $LUIGI embodies the internet’s talent for finding humour and profit in the absurd.
The Economics of Insanity
For the uninitiated, memecoins are cryptocurrencies born from internet jokes, viral moments, or cultural trends. Think Dogecoin, but with an even shorter attention span. While their value is often fleeting, they attract speculators who are either true believers in the “joke as currency” philosophy or simply hoping to flip a quick profit.
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“From the outside, it looks like madness,” said Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin. “Who in their right mind would invest in a coin tied to an alleged murderer? But this is just the latest example of how the internet turns moments of viral notoriety into financial opportunities.”
Beene compared the phenomenon to sports betting, where emotions are tied to wagers. “People are putting a dollar value on their engagement with a news story. It’s capitalism meets chaos,” he added.
And chaotic it is. The coin’s $29 million market cap reached just days after Mangione’s arrest is proof that, in the world of crypto, morality is optional.
Mangione’s alleged manifesto, described by authorities as a tirade against corporate greed, seems to have struck a chord in the crypto community. After all, UnitedHealthcare is a symbol of the American healthcare system’s many contradictions. Life-saving treatments for some, sky-high costs for others. What better way to rebel against “The Man” than to create a coin tied to the man accused of murder?
Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and CEO of 9i Capital Group, noted that the memecoin’s value is entirely speculative. “This isn’t about financial fundamentals. It’s about hype, attention, and the bizarre intersection of tragedy and humor,” he said. “The real question is: What does it say about us that this exists?”
Memecoins: The Digital Guillotine?
Some observers argue that the rise of $LUIGI reflects more than just poor taste. It’s a symbolic revolt against corporate power. Sure, it’s wrapped in meme culture and laced with absurdity, but maybe, just maybe, it’s a 21st-century version of the French Revolution’s guillotine. Except instead of heads rolling, we have blockchain tokens mooning.
“This could be seen as a moment of clarity,” Thompson suggested, with perhaps a touch more optimism than warranted. “It’s a reaction to systemic issues. People are realizing they have power financial, cultural, and digital over corporations.”
Or, as critics might put it: People are realizing they can turn literally anything into a commodity. Even tragedy.
Of course, meme coins have a reputation for burning bright and fast. Today’s $LUIGI is tomorrow’s forgotten relic. Buried in the depths of a digital wallet no one remembers the password to.
“Memecoins like this are financial novelties,” said Beene. “They rarely sustain their value. But for a brief moment, they capture something whether it’s laughs, anger, or just a collective shrug at the absurdity of modern life.”
And absurd it is. Imagine explaining this to someone from 10 years ago: “So, a corporate CEO gets murdered. Then the internet creates a cryptocurrency named after the suspect. It’s worth millions because… memes.”
Ethics Behind It
The $LUIGI raises inevitable ethical questions. Is it right to profit from a tragedy? Does this trivialize the loss of life? Or is it just another example of how the internet reshapes everything like grief, outrage, and now crime, into a marketable asset?
Critics argue the coin crosses a line, turning a human tragedy into a digital joke. Yet others see it as an honest reflection of a world where news cycles move too fast. And humour is often the only way to process the chaos.
