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Top 5 Cryptocurrency-Related Search Terms on Google

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Google. That’s the first thing most of us think of when we are looking for a piece of information.

Googling acts as the first stop for most people on the start of their cryptocurrency journeys to learn the basic and pick up trends in the space.

Google’s year in search for 2021 provides an overview of some of the most popular trends, captivating moments and events that had shaped our time last year.

It gives us a solid overview of what interests the public the most about the cryptocurrency industry.

To do this, Luno has scoured through a list of the most popular crypto-related search terms used on Google by people based in Singapore in 2021.

Let’s have a look at the 5 top searches and dive a little deeper into each of them.

Search Topic #1 : NFTs

Kicking off with number one, we have Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

These digital assets have taken the world by storm, especially with the news coverage of collections like CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Cool Cats, Doodles and many others which grabbed the public’s attention through their high value sales.

The most expensive CryptoPunk, CryptoPunk #5822 recently sold for a whopping 8,000 ETH (roughly US$ 23.7 million at the time of writing).

It is one of the nine rare “alien” avatars that is part of the 10,000 CryptoPunk collection.

Before we go further, let’s dial back and begin by talking about the general concept of NFTs.

“Fungible” means something that can be interchanged. Fungibility is the foundation of NFTs. To understand the concept of fungibility, let’s look at an example.

For most practical purposes, a dollar bill is exactly the same as another dollar bill and can be exchanged for each other.

Assuming they were minted roughly around the same time and have no particularly unique features, these two dollar bills are fundamentally the same thing.

These dollar bills are interchangeable, or fungible. Even cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ether, are fungible to an extent.

NFTs, however, are non-fungible, which means they have unique value and their ownership is verifiable.

By buying or “minting” these digital assets on an open and distributed blockchain (such as Ethereum or Polygon), you are the only owner of that item, which could either be a sole item in itself or part of a collection.

The item’s metadata and transaction history can also be verified by anyone on the internet via blockchain.

The fact that the NFTs are verifiable by way of blockchain also answers the increasingly popular “right click+save” rebut towards the NFT community.

Although one can easily save the .JPEG image of any NFT, including a CryptoPunk, it is not the same as owning the digital asset on blockchain.

On top of that, the image alone does not give you access to the community and other benefits that holders are eligible for, which is a key benefit of owning part of a collection.

The utility of NFTs and blockchain technology is not just limited to art, music or photography, it also has incredible potential for a variety of applications, from legal documents to commercial contracts.

Search Topic #2 : Bitcoin

The most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has captured the world’s attention as one of the most valuable assets in existence when it surpassed the US$1 trillion market capitalisation mark earlier this year.

Needless to say, this has been the most popular coin for most people getting into cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin was first mentioned in a whitepaper back in 2008 by the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto. To this day, we have no idea who Satoshi is, or if he/she is one person or a group of people.

The “Bitcoin” described in this whitepaper was presented as a currency based on a system that relied on decentralised public verification as well as the laws of supply and demand instead of a centralised government to give it value.

Bitcoin is a prime example of a coin that can be used as a store of value and medium of exchange for goods and services.

You can also think of Bitcoin as “digital gold”, in that it is limited in supply and it is divisible into smaller units without diminishing its value.

Bitcoin’s popularity has also contributed immensely to its high valuation and volatility, reaching an all time high of over US$ 68,000 in November last year for a single coin.

So what makes Bitcoin’s price fluctuate? Well, fundamentally, Bitcoin’s price boils down to supply and demand.

Firstly, there is a limited supply of Bitcoins available which is capped at 21 million BTC. New supply of Bitcoins generated decreases every 4 years with the halving event.

The next one in early 2024 will reduce new Bitcoins generated from 6.25 to 3.12 per block (roughly every 10 minutes).

Bitcoin’s price is also influenced by varying investor sentiments, developments on government regulations and media hype. These factors work together to cause volatility of the price over the short term.

The finite supply of Bitcoin, coupled with its tremendous popularity and investors’ belief that Bitcoin will be worth more in the future than it is in the present, has made it a very highly valued asset.

With the popularity of Bitcoin both as a cryptocurrency and a search term on Google, it is undoubtedly the first step for many into the world of cryptocurrency.

Search Topic #3 : Ethereum

The second most-popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum was described by its creators as the community-run technology powering the cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) and thousands of decentralised applications.

One of the main reasons why ETH is so popular is in the sheer number of use cases it has.

Developers can build on the Ethereum network by publishing smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps).

A simple way to visualise Ethereum is to think of it as a market. Many different vendors can set-up businesses within the market, and pay for the cost of being a part of the market by using the native currency, ETH.

The immense number of applications and tokens built on the Ethereum network is evidence of its popularity, which should only increase as the blockchain technology improves.

One improvement that made headlines in 2021 was the EIP-1559 protocol (or London Hard Fork) which rolled out in August 2021, to alleviate some of Ethereum’s network congestion and made gas fees for transactions less volatile.

“Burning” cryptocurrencies is the act of sending tokens to a wallet address that cannot be accessed by anyone.

You can check out this article, which covers the EIP-1559 protocol and the concept of “burning” in more detail.

Although not as popular as Bitcoin, Ethereum has become increasingly popular over the years with new use cases and applications being developed frequently.

With a market cap of roughly US$ 380 billion, Ethereum has secured its place firmly as the number two in the industry, and is unsurprisingly one of the top search terms in relation to cryptocurrencies.

Search Topic #4 : Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Next up on top crypto-related topics would be the term “cryptocurrency exchanges”.

Simply put, cryptocurrency exchanges are digital marketplaces where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

With the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in the past year, we have seen the definition of what constitutes a cryptocurrency exchange being put to the test.

In the past, these were limited to specialised exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini or Luno. However, 2021 has seen many companies offering their customers the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, such as Paypal and Venmo.

2022 is going to be no different as more companies explore incorporating blockchain into their offerings.

CEO and Co-founder of ZeroHash, Edward Woodford raised his view that “every company is going to be a crypto company in some form” in a recent interview.

Increased adoption from non-crypto companies makes buying cryptocurrency more accessible to their existing users and will continue to challenge the norm of what makes a cryptocurrency exchange.

Search Topic #5 : Wallet

In the past, wallets would have simply meant a physical pouch where you would store your cash and other important documents such as your identification card.

This has since evolved into digital wallets, also known as e-wallets on your digital devices where you could make transactions easily to other users or merchants.

In the cryptocurrency realm, “wallets” take on a whole new meaning.

While a normal wallet holds actual cash, crypto wallets don’t store your cryptocurrencies on them. Instead, crypto wallets hold private keys that give you access to send and receive your cryptocurrencies.

Crypto wallets store these private keys, keeping your cryptocurrencies safe and accessible to only yourself.

Wallets also allow you to receive funds via your public address, acting like a bank account number that can be shared with anyone to receive cryptocurrencies.

There are two types of wallets; hardware wallets and software wallets. Hardware wallets are devices that can store your cryptocurrencies without connecting to the internet. This is often referred to as a “cold” wallet, as it keeps your private keys completely offline.

Wallets like the Ledger and Trezor are popular choices in this space to keep your cryptocurrencies safe.

Software wallets, or “hot” wallets like Metamask and Trust Wallet are commonly used for their user-friendliness and compatibility with most popular coins. These are great choices to store cryptocurrencies that you use on a frequent basis.

However, these software wallets can be vulnerable to online attacks as your private keys are held online. This leaves your digital assets prone to phishing attacks and malware software that could steal your personal data.

A combination of hot and cold wallets are useful to keep your crypto safe. Storing your cryptocurrencies requires a good understanding of both types of wallet to strike the right balance between functionality and security.

With more users adopting cryptocurrencies, it is no wonder that they are interested in the various methods to keep their digital assets safe.

Investing in a cold wallet and picking a secure hot wallet are important decisions any new investor should spend some time researching about to find their peace of mind in this digital world.

Learn more about crypto

Based on the crypto-related search terms searched by Singaporeans, we can get an insight into what cryptocurrency investors, both existing and potential, are looking to research in the cryptocurrency industry.

If you’d like to learn more about cryptocurrencies, check out Luno’s discover page and their website

With articles and guides ranging from “Where did Bitcoin come from?” to “What is the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum?”, you can brush up on your cryptocurrency knowledge with ease.

Note: “Cryptocurrency is a high risk investment. The value of cryptocurrency can fluctuate significantly and you may lose the capital you invest. Before investing, we urge you to educate yourself about cryptocurrencies and to familiarise yourself with the risks involved, which are detailed in Luno’s Risk Warning.”

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