Nigeria becomes the most crypto-obsessed nation after the April crash

Nigeria becomes the most crypto-obsessed nation after the April crash

Google Trends data ranks nations on their recent crypto search terms. Ethereum surpasses Bitcoin in search terms

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

Most crypto assets lost more than 60 percent from their peak value during the April crypto market crash. This resulted in a general decline in trading and investor activities and interests. Despite the crash in April, the latest study has revealed interest and curiosity for crypto-assets worldwide.

The study took into account Google Trends data related to crypto phrases that are popular searches. The overall search score was published after combining the results from each country’s search history. The research took into account data from 15 countries worldwide.

The study further underlined the popularity of the crypto market among the Nigerian population, with the most searched phrases such as “buy crypto” and “invest in crypto” leading to an overall rating score of 370. The lack of competent financial services in Nigeria has driven curiosity about crypto in the Nigerian population and is a major driver of crypto adoption across Africa.

After the collapse in Nigeria in April, the search density for the phrase “invest in crypto” has increased at the same rate, while the search density globally has been steadily decreasing in contrast.

Earlier in April, KuCoin’s ‘Into the Cryptoverse Report’ highlighted the growing crypto interests among Nigerians. It was reported that 35 percent of the population aged 18 to 60 currently own crypto assets or have traded them in the past 6 months. 52 percent crypto investors from the Nigerian community repeatedly save more than half of their investments in the form of crypto assets.

With a search score of 270, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came in second due to the growing crypto-inclination of its citizens. Singapore was declared third in a row with a score of 260, while the United States was ranked 12th with a search score of 157. Some of the top crypto assets that individuals in these 15 countries were looking for were also identified by the search results data.

Ethereum searches outperformed Bitcoin searches 14 of them. Singapore dominated the ranking table with a score of 59. The upcoming Merge to the proof-of-stake (PoS) network may be the reason for the increased interest in Ethereum over Bitcoin. The merger is scheduled to take place in mid-September.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist.