Omicron crypto surges over 200% after being named as new COVID-19 variant

• A new meme cryptocurrency based on the new COVID-19 variant has emerged.
• The Omicron token rose over 200% in the past 24 hours, reaching a local high at $689.
• OMIC is a fork of the DeFi project OlympusDAO backed by a basket of assets, including USDC. 

While cryptocurrency prices retraced after the new coronavirus variant Omicron emerged earlier this week, the digital asset with the same name gained popularity and surged over 200%. The small-cap crypto describes itself as a decentralized reserve currency on the Abribtrum Network.

OMIC price skyrockets following emergence of new virus strain

Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) named Omicron as the new variant of concern for the recent mutation first found in Africa, investors fled to the new meme cryptocurrency OMIC.

The Omicron cryptocurrency has gained 231% in the past 24 hours, reaching a swing high at $689. Despite the rising popularity of the coronavirus-themed coin, the market capitalization of OMIC remains unknown and only $496,407 was traded in the past day.

OMIC/USD 

The Omicron token powers a decentralized reserve currency protocol on the Arbitrum Network, backed by a basket of assets, including USD coin (USDC) and liquidity provider tokens tied to MIM.

The token was created in early November as a fork of OlympusDAO on the Arbitrum network and its protocol relies on stakers and bonders to ensure a return over a specified period of time. 

The Omicron token could continue surging if investors contribute to its yield farm by depositing funds within its protocols. Roughly $700,00 has been deposited within its protocols, which led to annual yields of around 70,000% for stakers unless the developers back out of the project.

According to the crypto project’s official documentation, the digital asset was created a few weeks before the World Health Organization named the variant Omicron. The project’s initial announcements do not mention anything about the coronavirus.

Omicron appears to be only available for purchase through decentralized exchange SushiSwap. Centralized exchanges have not started to support trading of the OMIC token yet.

However, there appears to be another Omicron coin that trades under the ticker OMC, which originally surfaced in 2016 as a “dividend-issuing currency.”

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