LUCE crypto surges after Pope Francis’s death
Traders flock to Catholic-themed tokens – also in focus: WazirX recovery, SEC reboot, Circle’s global push
Base backs creators over traders
In a sharp rebuke to short-term speculation, Coinbase’s Layer 2 network Base reaffirmed its focus on creators and developers as the foundation of its vision for an onchain economy.
Base creator Jesse Pollak responded on Monday to criticism from Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen, who claimed that “traders are easily the most important user group in crypto.” Pollak disagreed: “I love traders, but our north star is helping creators and developers build their dreams. Everything else is downstream of that.”
The debate was sparked by last week’s chaotic rollout of an experimental content token minted via Zora from Base’s official X account. Despite disclaimers, the auto-minted token hit a $17 million market cap before crashing 92% within hours. Its current valuation sits around $5 million, according to DexScreener, up from the post-crash low but still far below its peak.
Some users accused Base of orchestrating the mint to support Zora’s upcoming airdrop on April 23. Pollak denied this, saying Zora “didn’t know until after it happened.” The controversy underscores a growing tension between supporting creative experimentation and managing speculative trading on-chain.
Pope’s death sends Solana memecoin surging
The unexpected death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday triggered a wave of activity in crypto markets, particularly around LUCE, a Solana-based memecoin themed after the Vatican’s Holy Year 2025.
Despite being unofficial and unaffiliated with the Church, LUCE surged 45% to $0.013, with daily trading volume ballooning from $5 million to over $60 million. It remains down 95% from its November high.
Meanwhile, papal succession betting markets are heating up. Cardinal Pietro Parolin currently leads with a 37% chance on Myriad Markets, followed by Cardinal Luis Tagle at 27%. A new pope is expected to be elected within three weeks.
Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, was outspoken about AI’s risks, warning in 2023: “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”
WazirX nears post-hack relaunch
Crypto exchange WazirX is one court decision away from reopening after a devastating $234.9 million hack last year, largely attributed to North Korean state actors.
Its Singapore-based parent Zettai confirmed Monday that preparations for a May 13 court sanction hearing are complete. If the recovery plan is approved, user payouts and a platform relaunch could begin within 10 business days.
The plan has overwhelming support: 93.1% of creditors, representing nearly $196 million in claims, voted in favor earlier this month. The company plans to issue Recovery Tokens and launch a decentralized exchange as part of its revival.
Without court approval, repayments could be delayed until 2030, the company warned.
New SEC chair could greenlight wave of ETFs
Paul Atkins was sworn in Monday as the 34th chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking a dramatic shift in crypto policy. He replaces Gary Gensler, under whom dozens of enforcement actions were filed against crypto firms.
Atkins holds up to $5 million in crypto investments via Off the Chain Capital and has long advocated for regulatory clarity. In his Senate confirmation, he slammed the previous approach as “unclear, overly politicized, and burdensome.”
His appointment comes as the SEC faces decisions on over 70 crypto ETF applications, from Solana and Dogecoin to a Melania Trump-themed token. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called 2025 “a wild year ahead” for crypto regulation.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns about Atkins’ ties to the industry, including his firm’s advisory work for collapsed exchange FTX.
Circle unveils global payments platform
Stablecoin issuer Circle on Monday launched its new global payments infrastructure, the Circle Payments Network (CPN), designed to move money 24/7 using USDC and EURC.
Partnered with fintech firms like dLocal, Coins.ph, and Yellow Card, the network aims to replace slow, expensive legacy systems with stablecoin rails that operate “at internet speed.”
CPN supports use cases like payroll, remittances, and treasury operations. It represents a pivot for Circle from stablecoin issuer to core financial infrastructure provider. The firm recently filed for an IPO under the ticker CRCL.
The announcement aligns with Circle’s efforts to secure a U.S. banking license as the Trump administration positions the country as a “Bitcoin superpower.”
