After the World Health Organization chose to adopt that name for the newest iteration of COVID-19, trading in the cryptocurrency Omicron skyrocketed, and its value fluctuated on Monday.
The virtual unit, which had been obscure and relatively steady in recent weeks, soared to about $700 early Monday, or ten times its previous value, according to the crypto news website CoinMarketCap.
It eventually dropped to $152 before bouncing back and stabilizing at $350. The WHO named the latest strain of the coronavirus that authorities worried about on Friday, Omicron, according to its policy of naming them after letters in the Greek alphabet.
The cryptocurrency Omicron was launched in early November, with its creators making no mention to COVID-19 at the time.
A crypto token named after the new COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron’ is up over 650% within the 3 days, and is now worth over $400 million.
If this isn’t a sign we’re in a giant bubble, I don’t know what is. pic.twitter.com/7ESD1v9wgF
— Mr. Whale (@CryptoWhale) November 28, 2021
Instead, they expressed hope that it would be able to preserve buying power regardless of market volatility. Omicron isn’t the only virtual unit to benefit from real-world fame, only to see its fortunes crumble.
The Squid currency, which was developed by TV show fans, surged from $0.70 at its inception on October 21 to a high of $2.86 on November 1.
The next day, it dropped to $0.003. Traders realized they couldn’t pay out their earnings, and the founders vanished from social media.
