Have you heard of the ‘attention trade’?

There have been recent reports from Bloomberg of a cryptocurrency called ‘omicron’ rising more than 900% since last weekend on the simple reason that it shares the name with the new Covid variant. That’s it. A 900% return. That really is outrageous.

However, it is a phenomenon worth noticing. It has been referred to as the ‘attention trade’. In other words, if it is being given the attention the asset will fall or gain simply due to attention.

A digital world

One of the new developments of our digital age is that there is hoped that it will usher in a new age where three is more of a level playing field. One of the consequences of this digital revolution is that the average Joe can now access markets in a way that would once have been unthinkable. There has been a democratisation of access to financial products. Now there are nuances to this and it is certainly not the pure Shangrila bliss touted by digital zealots, but it does mean one thing. The attention trade can be very profitable.

It’s illogical

Why should an omicron cryptocurrency rise because it shares its name with a Covid variant? There is no logical reason. Also, why should it gain when the omicron variant is thought to be potentially bad news at the moment? Again, the only answer is that it is simply due to attention. That means the attention trade should be on your list. Is something getting attention? In our digital age, that means that Joe public can buy or sell that product in an instant. At home, at work, or at leisure. We live in a scientific age, but much of our own human behaviour defies sound logic. As a result, the attention trade is with your attention, just don’t expect it to make sense. The next letter in the Greek alphabet is Pi. So, does this mean that any product that shares its name with Pi will be a likely candidate for another attention trade? Will Pi coin outperform as another ‘attention trade in the future?’. The key takeaway is to watch out for the attention trade as the nimble will be able to take advantage.


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