This may be good news or bad news – depending on how you take it.
A small-cap cryptocurrency surged 716% over the weekend… following the WHO’s naming of the most dangerous strain of COVD-19 after it.
Omicron Shows Why Names Matter
Omicron (OMIC), a cryptocurrency that defines itself as a decentralized reserve currency protocol available on the Arbitrum Network, started giving joy to its hodlers around noon on November 27, when it broke through resistance near $70 and rose to $187 in less than half an hour.
From there, prices went wild, and the token reached a daily high of about $242.
The greedy folks who didn’t cash out after this amazing surge of interest saw their bravery rewarded the next day when each OMIC climbed to trade on the order of $430 at its peak.
Price of Omicron. Image: Coinmarketcap
From that point, the token corrected to a low of $260 before a further push to its current $367. Not bad for a cryptocurrency that shares a name with the sixth deadliest pandemic of all time.
Unlike previous projects, the Omicron (OMIC) case is all about (un)fortunate coincidence. The token was born in early November as a fork of Olympus on the Arbitrum Network.
The Omicron protocol plays with a relationship between stakers and bonders to ensure a return over a given period of time.
But a few weeks later, the WHO decided to name a dangerous and newly discovered strain of COVID-19 after the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and the markets went crazy.
Covid-related Projects Are no Strangers in the Crypto-verse
Something similar happened in the early days of the Coronavirus when people rushed to buy cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and place bets related to the Coronavirus.
A clear example is the COVIDPunks project, a COVID-themed cryptopunks spinoff that has moved 1800 ETH in volume. And if that doesn’t seem like enough, a single original Cryptopunk, CryptoPunk 7523 sold at Sotheby’s for 11,754,000 USD.
Enthusiasts dubbed the NFT as COVID Alien.
And as long as there is any opportunity to make money, speculators will not hesitate to invest, even if it is not the most pleasant project in the world.
If you are interested in buying some Omicron, the only option for now is through Sushiswap. There is no centralized exchange with support for the cryptocurrency.
But please, whatever happens, if the token keeps going up don’t say out loud that you’re happy you got Omicron.