Cryptocurrency – or ‘crypto’ for short – is a form of digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services. Since the emergence of Bitcoin and other prominent cryptos in recent years, it has been gaining momentum all over the world. 

In fact, the number of people searching for cryptocurrency has increased by 203% in the past year alone, according to our analysis of Google search data. 

Intrigued to find out more about this growing curiosity, here at Invezz we sought to find out which countries are most interested in cryptocurrency, and who wants to buy it.

To determine this, we analysed how frequently Google searches for ‘cryptocurrency’ were made in 115 different countries around the world. From this, we were able to identify the top 50 countries most interested in digital currencies and get an idea of where the global demand is coming from.

The top 50 countries searching for ‘cryptocurrency’ online

Averaging 213,000 searches for the term ‘cryptocurrency’ each month, the United States was revealed to be the country with the greatest interest in the increasingly popular new form of currency. 

In fact, with 2,556,000 Google searches annually, this means that individuals from the United States made at least three times more searches than any other country studied. 

It is undeniable from this data that the USA – home of Silicon Valley and tech giants such as Apple and Facebook – is driving the interest in digital currencies.

India showed the second greatest interest in cryptocurrency from our search analysis, making 67,000 searches for the term on average each month – equivalent to 804,000 searches on average each year. This is more than double the interest shown by the second Asian country on the list, Indonesia, which ranked as the fourth overall with an average of 27,000 ‘cryptocurrency’ searches each month, or 324,000 annually. 

Our analysis shows that the United Kingdom ranks as the country with the third highest search volume for ‘cryptocurrency,’ with a monthly average of 54,000 searches for the term – 648,000 searches annually.

In fact, the electronic form of cash is so popular amongst Brits that the Financial Conduct Authority, which is responsible for regulating financial services in the UK, estimated that 3.86% of the general population owned cryptocurrencies in 2020. 

The United Kingdom was the only European country to rank within the top five countries worldwide. Germany followed behind in tenth making just 11,000 searches for the term ‘cryptocurrency’ on average each month. 

Excluding the UK, interest in cryptocurrency appears to be considerably lower in European countries than other places around the world. Looking at Portugal and Finland, both countries were found to make just 2,000 searches on average each month for ‘cryptocurrency’ – 33 times less than India, and over 100 times less than the USA.

Canada came fifth in ‘cryptocurrency’ searches, making 25,000 monthly requests on average for the term – equating to 300,000 on average each year. 

Following shortly behind, Vietnam made just 2,000 fewer searches on average each month for the emerging form of digital currency, with a total of 23,000 searches made on average each month (276,000 each year). 

Interest in crypto varied considerably between countries, including those within the same continent. For example, while Asian countries like India and Indonesia ranked as some of the most crypto-engaged countries, other Asian countries such as Armenia, Bangladesh, and Taiwan demonstrated far less interest, with average monthly search volumes of 2,000, 2,800, and 3,200 respectively. 

The European countries most interested in cryptocurrency

While the United Kingdom took the lead with 54,000 searches made on average each month, Germany followed behind with almost five times fewer searches on average (11,000 per month). 

Comparatively, Russia in sixth place makes 5,000 searches each month on average – more than 10 times less than the UK in first place.

Rounding off the top 10 European countries most interested in cryptocurrency is the Eastern European country of Ukraine, where residents make an average of 4,200 searches each month – 49,800 less than the UK. 

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency fears, answered by experts

To provide a better understanding of cryptocurrency, our experts have answered the world’s most Googled concerns surrounding crypto.

Is cryptocurrency safe?

Yes, cryptocurrency is safe. In fact, it’s arguably safer than any other form of money. All funds stored in cryptocurrency are secured by blockchain technology and a reliable record of ownership.

On top of this, cryptocurrency wallets are so well encrypted that they are virtually impossible to hack into. Your only concerns should be the same as with any personal finance accounts – keep your account passwords and wallet private keys safe and your funds will be protected.

Is cryptocurrency a good investment?

There are definitely good investment opportunities around, and young people especially are hopping in and making a lot of money. 

Bitcoin is among the best-performing assets of the past decade, and it’s clear that there is money to be made by investing in digital currencies. Cryptocurrency has forged its place in the financial landscape, and at this point, the question is one for each individual investor to answer for themselves.

The price of Bitcoin has been skyrocketing throughout 2021 so far, and many people are putting money in for the first time – driving its value even higher.

Is cryptocurrency legal?

Yes, there is nothing illegal about cryptocurrency. In any country where online trading is legal, it is almost certain that cryptocurrency will be too.

Why does cryptocurrency value drop?

Many reasons, news, usability, adoption, demand. The price of any publicly traded asset – be that a commodity, stock, or cryptocurrency – is decided by the buyers and sellers reaching an agreement on its fair valuation. 

Cryptocurrency markets are notoriously volatile, just like any new market before it’s had time to mature. While the technology is clearly here to stay, nobody can say for certain what the long-term future of cryptocurrencies will be, and it’s that uncertainty which leads to a very reactive market prone to sharp swings.

Why are people sceptical about cryptocurrency?

People are always nervous about change, and cryptocurrency poses a threat to traditional finance. The only real remedy for people’s scepticism will be time. 

So you have the establishment, you know, governments, media, old-money, all trying to discredit it which of course massively influences the public’s perception of it. A common narrative is that it’s used by money launderers and criminals – and while a small percentage of users have used it that way, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the world’s number one currency used for criminal activity: the US dollar. So the argument has no legs.

Bitcoin was launched in 2008, but it is only in the last year or so that governments, large institutions, and companies have started to take it seriously as both a solution and investment class. While it’s been a long time coming, this is a positive step for cryptocurrency and bodes well for its acceptance by society as a whole.

Methodology: 

  • Interested in the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency across the world, Invezz.com collated data on the monthly search volumes for ‘cryptocurrency’ and analysed this for all 115 countries – the top 50 countries were recorded for the study. This data was sourced from online analytics tool Ahrefs. 
  • To gain an idea of how frequently each country is estimated to be searching for the term ‘cryptocurrency’ on average each year, these monthly volumes were multiplied by 12. 
  • Finally, the five most frequently asked concerns were found by analysing search volume data sourced from Ahrefs, and these were answered by our experts. 
  • All online search volumes in the research are average online monthly search volumes. 
  • To determine the increased interest in cryptocurrency, we used Google Trends. 
  • Data was collected on March 10th, 2021 and was accurate as of then. 

The post The top 50 countries most interested in Cryptocurrency appeared first on Invezz.



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