- The launch and fame of the $LUIGI came as Mangione’s arrest got incredible media coverage and dominated headlines globally.
- $LUIGI’s fortune quickly soared with news of the arrest and continued media coverage, reaching a $60 million market capitalisation
- Before Mangione’s arrest became public, $LUIGI had a market cap of around $29 million
A new meme coin, $LUIGI, inspired by Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, Brian Thompson, has hit an impressive $60 million market capitalisation.
This came just less than 24 hours after the meme coin was launched following the reported arrest of Luigi Mangione by the police in Pennsylvania. Reports say Mangione has now been charged and is in jail.
The launch of the $LUIGI came as Mangione’s arrest; the materials found in his backpack, like a manifesto, got incredible media coverage and dominated headlines globally.
The coin’s fortune quickly soared with news of the arrest and continued media coverage, reaching a $60 million market capitalisation.
Before Mangione’s arrest, $LUIGI had a market cap of around $29 million but hit an all-time high of $60 million when the police made his arrest public.
Given the global buzz surrounding the murder case, the token, which was launched by a group of unnamed traders, is presently trading on Raydium and is trending.
Mangione’s arrest and media attention directly benefit the $LUIGI token, increasing its value and popularity.
What you need to know about Luigi Mangione, the UnitedHealthcare’s CEO killer
On Monday, the police said they had arrested Luigi Mangione after he was recognised at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. According to the BBC, officials said he was found in possession of a ghost gun, a largely untraceable firearm, and a three-page handwritten document that indicated “motivation and mindset.”
According to New York Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Mr. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland and has connections to San Francisco, California.
According to police, he has never been arrested in New York before and most recently resided in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He attended Gilman School, a private, all-boys high school in Baltimore, and comes from a well-known Baltimore family. Mangione had the best academic record in his class.
The school has reacted to the incident and his arrest, describing it in a statement as "deeply distressing."
Even by the standards of that private school, Mr. Mangione's family was wealthy, according to Freddie Leatherbury, a former classmate, who spoke to the Associated Press. "Quite honestly, he had everything going for him," Mr Leatherbury said.
Another student who spoke anonymously as a close friend of Mr. Mangione told CBS News that the shooting suspect "did not have any enemies" and was a "valedictorian for a reason."
Mr Mangione received a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and founded a video game development club.
How 9,200 crypto users lost $9.3 million to scammers in November
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that in November 2024, 9,200 crypto users lost $9.3 million in various crypto scams, including fraud and phishing. This is according to data released by ScamSniffer, a blockchain analytics platform.
ScamSniffer said the lost funds were in various cryptocurrencies, including WBTC. In a post on X, the analytics platform revealed that the most significant loss ever incurred by one person was $661,000 in stETH, a utility token called StETH. StETH is crypto token that represents an equivalent amount of Ethereum (ETH) that has been deposited to support blockchain operations.
