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The world was watching as news broke on Easter Monday. Pope Francis had passed away at the age of 88. And while the Vatican began preparations for the papal conclave, crypto degens and prediction market punters were already several steps ahead, placing bets on who would become the next pope.
A Solana-based meme coin called LUCE has become the unofficial rallying point for the crypto faithful, rising 45% in a day as traders scramble to front-run the Vatican’s most sacred tradition.
Betting on the Next Pope
Following Pope Francis’ death on Easter Monday, the traditional wheels of the Catholic Church have been set in motion. A papal conclave will be convened within the next three weeks to elect the next pope, as 1.4 billion Catholics await a new spiritual leader.
But outside the Sistine Chapel, things look a little different. On Myriad Markets, a crypto prediction platform, traders are putting money on who will wear the white cassock next.
Currently, Cardinal Pietro Parolin leads the board with a 34% probability of becoming the next pope. He’s followed closely by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines at 23%, while the rest of the odds go to “other” candidates, an ever-murky category full of wild-card picks and speculative punts.
This isn’t just a spiritual decision anymore. For the degen crowd, the conclave is also a chance to flip bags.
LUCE: The Meme Coin Chosen by the Degens
As speculation around the next pope kicked off, LUCE, an obscure Solana meme coin, was resurrected from the depths of irrelevance.
Originally launched in 2023 as a parody project around the Vatican’s Holy Year 2025, LUCE had been trading at just $0.009 before the Pope’s passing. Within 24 hours, it spiked 45% to $0.013, with daily trading volume surging from $5 million to over $60 million, according to CoinGecko.
Despite being completely unaffiliated with the Catholic Church, LUCE now boasts over 44,800 holders and an army of meme lords spreading divine vibes across Twitter and Telegram.
For those wondering: yes, the token is still down 95% from its peak of $0.30. But in crypto, all it takes is a narrative,and the “next pope” storyline is writing itself.
Pope Francis, the Tech Critic
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis started his service in 2013 and made history as the first non-European pope in over 1,300 years. His papacy was marked by a humble lifestyle, social activism, and unusually candid critiques of modern technology.
In his later years, Francis became a vocal critic of artificial intelligence, warning in 2023 that:
“AI is the highest-stakes gamble of our future.”
He urged developers to keep AI in service of humanity, not dominance. He especially condemned the use of autonomous weapons, stating: “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”
Ironically, while he rejected the use of advanced tech in warfare, crypto Twitter has now turned his passing into a token-fueled sideshow.
Read Also: Vatican Library Embraces Blockchain and NFTs
Does It Matter For Crypto At All?
This moment isn’t just a meme, it’s a cultural flashpoint. The election of the next pope will shape the Catholic Church’s global voice for years to come. But in 2025, even a spiritual succession becomes fertile ground for Web3 speculation.
It’s not the first time crypto has jumped on real-world events. From presidential elections to court trials, the blockchain crowd loves gamifying the news. The next pope just happens to be the latest headline getting minted into memes and tokens.
We’re living in a world where everything becomes a market. Even the smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel might signal a bull or bear run.
God, Memes, and Markets
So, what should we expect in the weeks ahead?
- The conclave will meet.
- LUCE will likely pump and dump with every rumor.
- And prediction markets will shift odds like a Vegas sportsbook.
Whether you see it as irreverent or inevitable, the crypto world has once again inserted itself into a global event with historical weight. And the keyword on everyone’s lips, from Vatican officials to Solana bag-holders, is the next pope.
Read Also: Top 7 Crypto Terms You Should Know in 2025
In 2025, culture, markets, and memes are indistinguishable. The Church may choose a new shepherd, but on the blockchain, degens already have their pope, and he’s wearing sunglasses, riding a moon rocket, and holding bags of LUCE.
Photo by Andy Luo on Unsplash
