A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch expedition vessel MV Hondius has left three passengers dead and at least seven others ill, triggering international health alerts and, in an unexpected twist, a sharp rally in a cryptocurrency tied to the virus’s name.
The ship, which departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 for a polar cruise, is now anchored off Cape Verde as patients are evacuated to European hospitals. Health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have confirmed cases of the Andes strain, which can in rare instances spread between people.
Crypto traders pile into $HANTA amid panic
Within hours of the headlines breaking, crypto traders on Solana seized the narrative. A meme coin called $HANTA, launched on the pump.fun platform, exploded tremendously within hours.
As of Thursday 6:45 PM IST, the token gained approximately 406%, fueled by trading volume topping $6 million. Its market capitalization hovered near $3.5 million, with reports of it briefly touching $5 million earlier in the day.
Social media platforms lit up with posts declaring it “trending on pump.fun” and traders openly discussing “buying the outbreak.”
Meme coins have long capitalized on headlines—from pandemics to celebrity deaths—drawing retail speculators chasing quick flips. In current trend, $HANTA dominates the conversation; scattered copycat tokens exist but show negligible activity or market caps under $50,000.
Search results on Dexscreener show a number of hanta-themed tokens in trend with most of them gaining in triple digits. However, excluding top 3, remaining tokens have insufficient liquidity—which makes trading much more volatile and on risk of a potential rug-pull if supply is concentrated around multiple connected wallets.
For now, though, the virus’s name has become currency in the speculative corners of the internet. Whether $HANTA’s spike proves fleeting or signals another wave of meme-driven mania depends on how long the headlines—and the fear—persist.
Also read: SIREN Meme Coin Awakens from the Depths — Rallied ~50% in 24 Hours
