Omicron (OMIC) surges 700% after WHO confirms new COVID variant with similar name

• Omicron (OMIC) has rallied over 700 percent this weekend after WHO gave the same name to the latest COVID variant.
• COVID-themed NFTs have sold for millions of dollars in the past, making money from the latest pandemic in history.

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Naming companies, drugs, programs among other items after letters of the Greek alphabet is common practice – from Alpha, Beta, Omega, and even Omicron. The latter is the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet and it is sparking great attention in world events.

Over the weekend, little-known cryptocurrency Omicron (OMIC) skyrocketed 716 percent. Coincidentally, this happened after the World Health Organization (WHO) named the latest and most dangerous COVID-19 variant after the Greek letter. Whether this is good news or bad news is just up to one’s interpretation.

For Omicron holders, things began to brighten up at around noon Nov. 27. OMIC broke through its near $70 resistance, rising to $187 in less than half an hour. Thereafter, prices went wild, reaching a daily high of about $242. Those who hodled on saw even better rewards the next day when the token peaked at $430.

Omicron shows why naming matters

Traditionally, WHO names these viruses after letters of the Greek alphabet to prevent stigmatization, discrimination, and complex names. This time, the organization skipped the two letters after “mu” to prevent the controversial naming of the latest COVID variant, and their next choice was Omicron.

From the $400 level, Omicron corrected to $260 before making another surge to the $500 level. Our data at press time shows OMIC was trading at $579.90, having gained 102.2 percent in the day. Its rank is 3368 although its live market cap is currently unavailable.

Omicron came into existence early this month as a fork of rebasing token Olympus (OHM) on the Arbitrum Network. OMIC is a decentralized reserve currency protocol that rewards stakers and bonders through its economic dynamics. Now the crypto asset is namesake to the sixth deadliest pandemic of all time – a plot twists now responsible for its notable ascent.

Rising to fame on the back of the current pandemic is not new in the crypto industry. For instance, COVIDPunks is a COVID-themed spinoff of the valuable CryptoPunks NFT set. The project has moved 1800 ETH in trading volume (roughly $7.9M at the current ETH price). Even more, CryptoPunk 7523, the only of its kind with a mask, sold for $11.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction. NFT enthusiasts nicknamed it ‘COVID Alien.’

As long as there is a money-making opportunity, investors seem to go right in – even if it is related to something deadly. Presently, Omicron is only available on Sushiswap (Arbitrum One) for those wishing to purchase. 

Since WHO names COVID variants per Greek letters, maybe the next crypto should be named after the letters following Omicron.