When Meme Coin Meets Social Hotspot: LUIGI Plays the "Crypto Robin Hood" Plot

Written by: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily

At 2 a.m. on December 10, a meme coin named LUIGI was listed on the popular coin selection platform Moonshot about 30 minutes after the opening of pupm.fun. Amid market speculation about whether it was a "conspiracy" or a "big golden dog", its market value rose rapidly, once breaking through to nearly 80 million US dollars. Subsequently, the news that "the largest insurance company in the United States was shot and killed by digital nomad Luigi Nicholas Mangione" became popular. As a result, another "news hot meme coin" attracted countless market attention, and thisTokenMore information about this incident, which involves sensitive factors such as US health care, social justice and illegal sanctions, has gradually surfaced, which is really sad.

On the third day after the incident, let us review this "tragedy of the commons in the US health insurance industry" and understand the love-hate relationship between Meme coin and news from another perspective.

When a man named Luigi decided to commit murder: The whole story of the CEO shooting

December 4th, which is set as "Constitution Day" in China, is just an ordinary day in the United States.

Of course, for UnitedHealthcare, the largest insurance company in the United States and the second largest in the world in terms of sales, this day is not ordinary, because the annual investor conference of this American health insurance giant is about to begin.

At that time, Brian Thompson, the helmsman of this industry giant and the company's CEO, will share the company's impressive achievements this year with people from all walks of life. After all, in the 2024 Fortune 500 list, the annual revenue of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company behind UnitedHealthcare, reached US$371.622 billion, ranking 8th in the world, even US$7.14 billion more than the well-known Berkshire Hathaway under Buffett. The previous one is the global technology giant Apple; its market value once reached US$560 billion, covering nearly 50 million American citizens. He certainly has reason and qualifications to be proud of himself and his company's achievements.

Fortune Magazine – UnitedHealth Group ranked #8

At 6:45, Brian Thompson was heading to the Hilton Hotel where the exchange meeting was held in Manhattan, New York, facing the slightly chilly weather. Because it was not far from his hotel, he chose to walk there and did not arrange for security personnel to protect him. Although he had received several death threats before, for him who had worked at UnitedHealth for 20 years, such threats were commonplace and he never took them seriously.

Just as he was walking on the sidewalk as usual, an accident happened - a masked man wearing a black hooded jacket and a gray backpack suddenly appeared behind him like a ghost, and fired several shots with a 9 mm silencer pistol in his hand, hitting his back and calf. Although the pistol jammed once, the man in black adjusted himself and walked towards Brian Thompson who had fallen down and fired another shot. Afterwards, the man ran through an alley and quickly fled the scene. Witnesses said he rode an electric bicycle into New York Central Park.

At 6:48, three minutes after the shooting, New York police arrived at the crime scene and found several bullet casings on the ground with the words "Deny, Defend, Depose" engraved on them (another saying is Delay, Deny, Depose). These three words starting with "D" just correspond to a set of unwritten industry rules when the U.S. insurance industry handles insurance incidents - delay: delay the claim settlement time; refuse: refuse the claim settlement; question: question the policyholder in an attempt to make him give up the lawsuit.

At 7:04, according to surveillance video, he took a taxi to the bus terminal and did not appear again in the bus station's video surveillance, and thus left New York.

At 7:12, less than 30 minutes after being rushed to the hospital, Brian Thompson was pronounced dead after failed rescue efforts. The helmsman of a multi-billion dollar business empire was thus reduced to a lonely soul under the gun.

As the news of the incident spread, American society was in an uproar.

Some people regard him as a "blatant murderer". After all, he calmly killed people in broad daylight and escaped, which makes it hard to imagine what a cruel and cold-blooded bloodthirsty demon he is. Others believe that there may be other hidden reasons for his "shooting of the CEO of the largest insurance company in the United States". Such a meticulous planning of the crime and a clear target object cannot be ruled out as a personal vendetta or other possibilities. Others feel that this incident is just a recurrence of the "gun murder incident" that has long been communal in American society, except that this time the victim is no longer a civilian as before, but the CEO of a giant company.

As time went on, more information was gradually revealed:

On December 5, police investigations found that the gunman had stayed at the HI New York City Hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side and had a brief conversation with a female staff member when checking in at the front desk. To be precise, "they were flirting, and then he (the gunman) took off (a mask or other covering) and smiled brightly," CBS News quoted a person associated with the New York police as saying.

The gunman talks to the front desk

On December 9, at a McDonald's at 407 Plank Road East in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 450 kilometers from New York, a McDonald's employee reported to the police that he had found a man wearing a medical mask and a beanie and carrying a gun suspected of being the "shooter in the New York street shooting." When the police rushed over, they found that his facial features were consistent with the murderer, and confirmed him as the suspect in the "12 4 CEO shooting incident" during the interrogation, and subsequently arrested him.

It is reported that the man is named Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26 years old, and he was in possession of a gun believed to be used to shoot Brian Thompson on the 4th (later confirmed to be 3D printed, which also confirmed the reason for the previous jam). The police also found a three-page handwritten document in his belongings, in which Luigi wrote: "To the FBI, I will be brief because I do respect what you have done for the country. In order to save you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I have not cooperated with anyone." In addition, heXiaobai Navigation"I apologize for any strife or trauma this has caused, but it must be done. Frankly, these parasites deserve it," the document reads.

3D printed “weapon”

With the arrest of Luigi, information about his identity and motive for the crime gradually came to light. It was only then that people realized that the incident was far from being summarized as an "ordinary shooting incident."

When justice and morality collide head-on: The chronic disease of the US health insurance industry VS patients' claims

The incident further fermented as Luigi Nicholas Mangione's identity information became increasingly clear, and the spearhead was directed at the current slightly deformed medical insurance system in the United States.

According to netizens, Luigi Nicholas Mangione is an Italian-American who was born in Maryland, USA. He graduated from Gilman School, a famous private high school in Baltimore (with an annual tuition of up to $37,000) in 2016, and also spoke as a representative of outstanding graduates. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, one of the "8 Ivy League schools in the United States", in May 2020. He previously studied computer science and minored in mathematics, and obtained a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering. He served as the chief counselor of Stanford University's preparatory research program, and the video game development club he founded in college was also selected into the Computer Honor Society. He himself has interned at the famous 3A masterpiece Civilization series game company, and has also worked as a data engineer at California car shopping website TrueCar. In 2023, he went to Hawaii to start his digital nomad life.

Later, someone found his Goodreads book list, and The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferries, a well-known investor and digital nomad advocate, was prominently listed. In addition, he also wrote a long review of On Industrial Society and Its Future by Ted Kaczynski, an extremist, American mathematician, and notorious "University Unabomber" in January this year. He mentioned: "(We) can easily and quickly regard this as a madman's manifesto without thinking. But it is impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society are... When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary for survival... These companies don't care about you, your children or your grandchildren... 'Violence will never solve anything' This is a statement made by cowards and predators." It is worth mentioning that after his arrest, the US police quickly blocked and hid all of Luigi's social media (but his X platform account @PepMangione was spared because it had not posted for a long time), and his Goodreads book reviews were no exception.

Goodreads long review by Luigi

In addition to his personal past, his family background has also been put in the spotlight. People have discovered that Luigi's family is a well-known local family - his grandparents are real estate developers, the family owns many properties in Maryland, and operates several elderly rehabilitation centers and two country clubs; his cousin Nino Mangione is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Representatives and also serves as the co-chairman of the Trump campaign team in Baltimore County. It is worth mentioning that after Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested, Nino Mangione posted on social media: "Our whole family is shocked and saddened by Luigi's arrest. We pray for Brian Thompson's family and ask everyone to pray for everyone involved."

A few weeks before the shooting, Luigi had lost contact with his family. According to his friends, Mangione had back surgery a few months ago, and the surgery was not effective. The back pain caused great trouble to his daily life. Netizens speculated that he suffered from spondylolisthesis based on his Goodreads bookshelf information.

According to information leaked to the New York Times by law enforcement officials and other information, the handwritten statement Mangione carried with him when he was arrested may be as follows:

To the FBI, I'll be brief because I respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I'll just say straight out that I didn't work with anyone. It was pretty simple: some basic social engineering, some basic CAD, and a lot of patience.

If you guys find the spiral notebook, there are some scattered notes and to-dos in there that give you a rough idea of what's going on. I keep my electronics pretty well protected because I work in engineering, so there's probably not much information there.

I am deeply sorry for any conflict or trauma caused, but it must be done. Frankly, these parasites have it all to themselves. Just a reminder: America has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank about 42nd in life expectancy. UnitedHealth is the [xxx]th largest company in the U.S. by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, and Walmart. It keeps getting bigger, but what about our life expectancy? No, the reality is, these [xxx] have become too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for massive profits because the American public lets them get away with it.

Obviously, the problem is much more complex, but I don’t have the space to go into it, and frankly, I’m not the most qualified person to write about it in detail. But many people have exposed this corruption and greed years ago (Rosenthal, Moore, for example), and the problem persists. This is not a problem of perception, but clearly a power play. Obviously, I am the first person to confront it in such a straightforward way.”

Considering his previous "elite resume", it is hard not to feel sympathy for this "tragic hero" in this speech. The opposite of this sympathy is the cruel and ruthless side of the current US health insurance system.

It is understood that the proportion of medical and health expenses in GDP in the United States has always been significantly higher than that of other countries: according to a number of data summaries, the average hospitalization cost in the United States is as high as US$22,500; a common appendectomy surgery in China costs about US$30,000 in the United States, and complex surgeries can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without medical insurance, ordinary people simply cannot afford it; and medical insurance in the United States is also difficult for people to accept easily.

Earlier, a Gallup poll found that in 2023, about 81% Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the cost of health care in the United States, the highest level in 16 years; KFF research showed that in 2024, the average health care cost of American families was US$25,572, while the average health care cost of unmarried adult citizens was US$8,951, an increase of 6% and 7% respectively from the previous year; since 2000, except for a few years, the increase in health insurance premiums has exceeded inflation.

In addition, a 2023 survey by the American Medical Association found that 1/3 of doctors reported that the "approval first, then treatment" prior authorization model promoted by US health insurance companies caused many patients to develop serious lesions, 94% of patients had necessary treatment delayed, 80% of patients chose to give up treatment, and 9% of patients became disabled or even died. Not to mention, health insurance companies will use various reasons, various procedures and claims processes as obstacles to do everything possible to reduce claims costs or even refuse insurance. It is no wonder that Jay M. Feinman, a professor at Rutgers University in the United States, published a book in 2010 called "Delay, Denial, Defense: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do?", which was previously very popular.

As for UnitedHealthcare, which has 140,000 employees, its rejection rate may be as high as 32%, according to the financial website Value Pengui. Almost one in three customers who request a claim are rejected, which is twice the industry average (16%). The reason behind this is naturally inseparable from Brian Thompson, who was promoted to CEO in 2021.

It is understood that since 2021, the refusal rate of UnitedHealthcare has been increasing: in 2020, the figure was 10.9%; in 2022, it doubled to 22.7%. In contrast, the company's profits have risen: in 2021, the profit was US$12 billion; in 2023, this figure increased to US$16 billion. You know, this is the company's revenue performance during the new crown period. At the same time, from 2021 to 2023, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, had an annual salary of US$10.2 million, US$9.8 million, and US$9.6 million respectively.

Under Brian Thompson, UnitedHealthcare also prepared to launch a plan in 2021 to refuse to pay for emergency room visits at what it considered "non-critical hospitals," but it was shelved due to too many protests. At the 2023 investor conference, it also outlined that the company would prefer to pay claims "based on valuable care," that is, the post-hospitalization care phase rather than the treatment phase.

In fact, according to a report from the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in October this year, UnitedHealthcare has been using AI The company uses a tool and an algorithm called nH Predict to screen insurance policies, among which post-acute care is the most frequently denied item, with an acute care denial rate of about three times the overall denial rate. At the end of last year, the families of two deceased customers sued UnitedHealthcare, claiming that it deliberately used a flawed algorithm to refuse to provide elderly patients with extended care deemed necessary by doctors, with an error rate of 90%. A previous investigation by ProPublica also found that UnitedHealthcare used algorithms to effectively cut or limit some treatment costs, endangering the mental health insurance of many Americans. In California, Massachusetts and New York, this practice of insurance companies is considered illegal.

You know, American insurance companies have always been regarded as "difficult to defeat money-making beasts". Due to their numerous insurance regulations and strong legal power, most people can only choose to accept reality after being denied claims. Only 0.1% of people will appeal against the denial of claims.

When the cold and cruel social reality meets the seemingly passionate justice sanctions, the "Robin Hood-style" heroic plot is undoubtedly more touching. This is why many people, including some American media, focus on UnitedHealthcare and the American health insurance system rather than "Luigi himself shot the CEO". Social media platforms including X, Reddit, Tiktok, etc. have been filled with slogans such as "FreeLuigi" and "Free the man" in recent days. Some people even fabricated "alibi" for him on news website message boards and social media. What's more, the McDonald's employee who called the police to arrest Luigi was also "besieged" by netizens. People gave it a one-star bad review on the map software.

This McDonald's was given a one-star bad review due to public outrage

Of course, not everyone will be carried away by this passionate idea of "eliminating harm for the people."

On December 10, Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro publicly condemned Luigi Nicholas Mangione: "In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Listen to me, he is not a hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald's."

In addition, a screenshot taken by netizens showed that Musk had expressed his opinion on the matter on December 7: "This is disgusting. Everyone is making that guy into some kind of folk hero. Insurance companies, like any company, have a responsibility to maximize profits for the needs of shareholders, no matter how ruthless the means. The radical left who don't buy this needs to grow up and mature." However, the tweet has not been found under the content of Musk's account, and it is suspected to have been deleted or was a spoof of photoshopped pictures.

Network screenshots

There were also different online news later, saying that Luigi Nicholas Mangione may have committed this because of his mother's chronic back pain claim or grandparents' medical insurance claim. The specific situation still depends on further investigation by the US police. On December 10, the New York police charged him with second-degree murder related to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO, as well as five other charges including forgery of documents, false identity, and illegal possession of firearms. However, since different states in the United States have different laws and judicial systems, it may take days or weeks to transfer fugitives between states.

whencryptocurrencyBecoming a news "fire zone", can speculation keep the hot spot alive?

According to GMGN data, as of the time of writing, the protagonist of this incident has the same nameToken The current price of LUIGI is $0.015, with a market value of approximately $15 million. It has fallen by about 80% from its peak of $78 million.

LUIGI Tokeninformation

Just like the crypto prediction market Polymarket that successfully predicted Trump's victory this year, Meme coins have become a "social hot spot weathervane" in a sense. The squirrel and the related Meme coin PUNT that were "harmed" before were even highly praised by Musk, who said that "a squirrel and a Meme coin saved America." Although it is a bit exaggerated, it is still an affirmation of the social news value of Meme coins. Including the Ethereum Meme coin MOODENG, which was created by the Tiktok animal Internet celebrity image of the hippopotamus, and the subsequent use of token donations to support charity is alsocryptocurrencyOne of the rare “Mass Adoption” trial examples in the industry.

此外，新闻热点的热度也直接体现在包括 Meme 币在内的一众加密货币的市场表现上，但对于很多项目来说，单纯的投机炒作往往只能是「一波流式的零和博弈」，至于能否为新闻热点注入新的生命力，往往取决于一个加密货币项目叙事的持久影响力。

LUIGI is just the intersection of Meme coin and news hot spots. More projects will emerge in the future. Can Meme coin at that time promote similar events to have a different direction and outcome? Only time can tell us the answer.

The article comes from the Internet:When Meme Coin Meets Social Hotspot: LUIGI Plays the "Crypto Robin Hood" Plot

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