Crypto Chaos: The Viral Meme Coin, POPE, Causes Stir
Rapid Fortunes and Misfortunes with Pope Meme Coin: Insiders Banked $1 Million, Outsider Suffered $111K Loss in a Swift 5-Minute Spree
In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, the unusual has become the norm. The latest sensation, a meme coin dubbed after the leader of the Catholic Church, has captured the attention of the crypto community. This novel digital asset, appropriately named POPE, has been making waves, albeit not always positive ones.
In a whirlwind of activities within the past few days, the crypto space has been abuzz with news. Reports of insiders cashing out and a trader reporting a significant loss of over $110,000 in mere minutes have sent shockwaves through the community.
Exchanges like GateIo and MEXC have hastened to add POPE to their trading platforms, contributing to the asset's meteoric rise in value, which soared by several thousand percent within hours. Although pinpointing an accurate market cap for POPE can be elusive, some reports suggest that it once surpassed $300 million before a crash.
Verifying these figures independently, however, is challenging as they are noticeably absent from reliable third-party data aggregators such as CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap at this time. In fact, CoinGecko has removed POPE from its platform altogether.
POPE's website claims that a sizable portion of its 1B max supply will go to the Catholic Church, with 25% earmarked for creators and marketing, and only a modest 100 million set aside for public distribution. The intention behind POPE, according to the site, is to support a future Pope sympathetic to cryptocurrency and decentralization, fostering empowerment, global impact, and spiritual connectivity.
Interestingly, this digital offering has already seen a significant financial boost. Reports indicate that developers or insiders made a sizeable fortune of over $1 million in just a couple of hours by offloading tokens to the unsuspecting community.
This dubious turn of events has not been kind to one POPE investor who dived headlong into the hype. According to Lookonchain, they lost $111,000 in less than five minutes during a panic sell-off.
Here's a quick snapshot of POPE's current status:
Recent Price Crash
- A trader recently suffered a staggering loss of $111,000 in under five minutes on May 3, 2025, following a 55% price drop due to whale sell-offs.
- Developers or insiders made over $1 million by dumping tokens shortly after launch, exacerbating the price collapse.
Market Dynamics
- During the sell-off, POPE's liquidity dropped an alarming 30%.
- Trading volume surged to an astounding $800,000 around the event.
While POPE's purpose is rooted in supporting future Popes who champion cryptocurrency, its practical utility remains unclear. The rapid crashes and insider profits suggest potential market manipulation, a recurring issue in the world of meme coins.
The POPE frenzy also coincides with the controversial Polymarket's papal succession bets, which have drawn criticism for profiting from Pope Francis' passing in April 2025[1][3]. The lack of transparency surrounding POPE and its questionable origins have fueled a broader debate about the ethical and financial risks associated with meme coins.
[1] The Atlantic - Polymarket's Pope Odds Cause Outrage[2] Forbes - The POPE Cryptocurrency: A Memecoin's Rapid Rise and Fall[3] The Guardian - Controversy Surrounds Polymarket's Papal Succession Bets[4] CoinDesk - POPE Memecoin Soars, then Crashes, Raising Ethical Questions[5] Decrypt - Exclusive: An Inside Look at the POPE Meme Coin Saga
- The rapid rise and fall of the POPE meme coin, despite its ambitious aims to support future Catholic Church-friendly Popes, have raised substantial ethical questions about market manipulation within the crypto trading world.
- CoinDesk reported that POPE's meteoric rise and subsequent crash was not only surprising but also problematic due to insiders making over $1 million by dumping tokens shortly after launch.
- In a recent incident, a POPE investor lost a substantial sum of $111,000 in less than five minutes during a panic sell-off, as reported by Lookonchain.
- While POPE's purpose revolves around fostering empowerment, global impact, and spiritual connectivity through cryptocurrency, its practical utility remains unclear, leading to fiscal concerns.
- CoinGecko has removed POPE from its platform, causing some trouble in determining accurate figures for the coin's market cap, as third-party data aggregators like CoinGecko provide crucial information for the crypto finance landscape.
