“Luigi Coin” shot up an unbelievable 35,000% in value after the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
The cryptocurrency, a largely forgotten meme token, surged to a $55 million market cap and saw over $100 million in trading volume within 24 hours.
This surreal surge comes as the market’s appetite for risky assets hits new highs. Over the past two years, speculation has pushed everything from obscure cryptos to major stock indices to record levels. Since October 2023, the S&P 500 has jumped nearly 50% in just 14 months.
Rarely in history does this ever happen. At the same time, Bitcoin surged past $2 trillion market cap, surpassing giants like Saudi Aramco, Meta, and even the global silver market.
Markets embrace risk as speculation peaks
Investors are pouring money into leveraged funds at unprecedented rates. For every $1 in short leveraged ETFs, there’s now $14 in long leveraged funds—a ratio that has doubled in just a few months. U.S. leveraged ETFs under management have hit $120 billion, and net long equity futures held by investors reached $290 billion, an all-time high.
Public sentiment is just as bullish. A record 56.4% of Americans expect stocks to rise over the next 12 months, and November was the largest gap ever between those predicting higher versus lower stock prices.
Retail investors, unfazed by growing economic uncertainty, continue to pour money into markets. Meanwhile, safe-haven assets like gold and bonds are also climbing, creating a paradoxical time where traders are betting on everything at once. It’s truly an honor to witness.
The optimism persists despite cracks in the economy. October saw the U.S. shed 46,000 manufacturing jobs, the steepest decline since April 2020. But the market seems immune to bad news. With retail investors betting big and only 46% of them believing a crash is likely within six months, fear of a downturn has hit its lowest level since 2006.
Luigi Mangione’s arrest and manifesto ignite public outrage
While Luigi Coin grabbed the crypto community’s attention, Luigi Mangione dominated mainstream headlines. The 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson in a pre-dawn ambush last Wednesday in Manhattan.
Thompson, walking to a Hilton hotel for his company’s annual investor conference, was gunned down in what police describe as a calculated attack.
Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles from the crime scene. Officers found fake IDs, a ghost gun equipped with a silencer, and a handwritten three-page manifesto in his possession.
The manifesto, according to law enforcement sources, paints a chilling portrait of Mangione’s motivations. In it, Mangione railed against the American healthcare system, calling it “parasitic” and accusing companies like UnitedHealthcare of exploiting people while life expectancy in the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations.
He described his actions as a “symbolic takedown” of what he viewed as a corrupt industry. Sources say he believed he was exposing healthcare’s “power games” and considered himself a hero for the attack.
The manifesto also revealed Mangione’s admiration for the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, whom he called a “political revolutionary.” Online, Mangione reportedly engaged with Kaczynski’s writings, finding validation in his extremist views.
Law enforcement believes Mangione’s obsession with healthcare’s failures intensified after he underwent a traumatic back surgery, which left him physically and emotionally isolated. His family reported him missing on November 18.
Social media reactions to Thompson’s assassination have raised alarms. Some users praised Mangione for targeting a corporate executive, with comments framing the act as a fight against greed.
Former journalist Taylor Lorenz even said on live TV that she felt “joy” over Thompson’s death, triggering widespread outrage. Law enforcement now fears that Mangione’s actions could inspire further violence against corporate leaders. Naturally.
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