Crypto and global markets were sent into a tailspin following the emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Cryptocurrencies and global markets were sent into a tailspin following the emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron COVID-19 variant. But one relatively new crypto named Omicron has seen a massive spike. By Monday, the token OMIC surged by 950% since Saturday to reach an all-time high of $690 (€611).
The token coincidently bears the same name as the COVID-19 variant that was found on November 23 in South Africa. The B.1.1.529 strain was named after the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.
The World Health Organization, which on Friday named the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, said as more countries reported cases there is a “very high” global risk of surges, although scientists have said it could take weeks to understand its severity.
From “squid game” to dogecoin, minor cryptocurrencies have this year benefited from links to memes or internet culture, recording rapid booms and busts while more mainstream names such as bitcoin soar in popularity.
The bond-based yield farming project started out in early November as a fork of the OlympusDAO DeFi protocol. The token rose to $689 on Monday.
It’s not clear when the Omicron token was launched. Data on its price at CoinGecko was only available from Nov. 8, while a Telegram channel under the name OmicDAO was launched a day earlier.
There are countless examples of stock prices soaring on mistaken identity. The most recent famous example is how people bought shares of medical-device maker Signal Advance after Elon Musk told people to use the Signal messaging app. Fast-trading algorithms accidentally buy names similar to their real targets, and fat-fingered traders hit the wrong keys.Â
