One of the main narratives of hope for cryptocurrency investors is that there will be a major shift in public perception that sparks a new wave of capital from retail and institutional traders. Unfortunately for these hopeful bulls, data indicates that the opposite has occurred for nearly a year, a fact evidenced by the declining rate of searches for the term Bitcoin (BTC) on Google. A similar pattern is seen when looking at the search interest for the top smart contract platform Ethereum (ETH), which saw its peak interest occur during the second week of May 2021, and has been …

Three market catalysts suggest that Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) is well-positioned to reach $4,000 this month. Google searches for "Ethereum merge" spike Internet users' interest in Ethereum's upcoming network upgrade, dubbed "the Merge," surged substantially in the week ending April 2, Google Trends' data shows. Searches for the keyword "Ethereum Merge" reached a perfect Google Trends score of 100 on a 12-month timeframe with most traffic coming from the U.S., Singapore, Canada, and Australia. Merge, also called ETH 2.0, refers to the Ethereum network's full transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) from Proof-of-Work (PoW), a development that had been touted as …

The crypto ecosystem houses some devoted followers who got the logo of their favorite cryptocurrency etched on their skin for life. According to the latest data from Crypto Head, more than 900 people worldwide have inked themselves with the Bitcoin (BTC) “B”, while Dogecoin (DOGE) tattoos and Ethereum (ETH) tattoos are on the rise. The research analyzed “Instagram hashtags and Google search volumes,” revealing crypto tattoo searches have increased by 222%. Despite lackluster price action, more and more crypto enthusiasts seek to get inked with a crypto logo. The making off my #bitcoin Freedom Tattoo!! Show me your #crypto tattoo …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trapped in a symmetrical triangle for 56 days and the trend change could last until early-May, according to price technicals. Currently, the support level stands at $38,000, while the triangle resistance for daily close stands at $43,600. Bitcoin mining up, retail interest down The week started with a positive achievement for the Bitcoin network as the Lightning Network capacity reached a record-high 3,500 BTC. This solution allows extremely cheap and instant transactions on a secondary layer, known as off-chain processing. After cryptocurrency mining activities were banned in China in 2021, publicly-listed companies in the United States …

While the worldwide search interest for the keywords “metaverse” and “NFT” boomed in the last quarter of 2021, Google Trends data shows that the hype may have passed since February 2022. Google Trends shows that in the last twelve months, searches for “metaverse” gained traction within October to December 2021. However, since the beginning of 2022, the search interest continues to drop, hitting its lowest point for 2022 in March. Apart from the keyword “metaverse,” the data shows that the worldwide search for “NFT” has also started its decline this year. However, the drop for NFT is more noticeable as …

Several Russian banks that were sanctioned over Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine will no longer support major payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, as well as other banks like Sovcombank, Otkritie, Novikombank and Promsvyazbank, are on the list of companies sanctioned by the United States, the Bank of Russia confirmed on Friday. Users of debit and credit cards issued by these banks will no longer be able to use Apple Pay and Google Pay, the central bank said in the announcement, adding that contact or contactless payment will still be available in full …

It’s a shot in the arm for Google Cloud users at risk of cryptocurrency mining attacks. The Google Cybersecurity Action Team (GCAT) has created a threat detection service to shield “poorly configured” accounts that attackers use to mine cryptocurrency. In a blog post, Google Cloud announced the Virtual Machine Threat Detection (VMTD) release in its Security Command Center (SCC) area. A means of scanning compute engines in Google Cloud, the VMTD successfully detects threats, including crypto-mining malware used inside virtual machines. Crypto-mining malware attacks, sometimes called “cryptojacking,” are an ongoing nuisance in the industry. While browser-based cryptojacking activity spiked in …

Google has started researching blockchain and how it may benefit Web 3.0 technology. According to a Tuesday statement from Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet — Google's parent company — the company is exploring integrating blockchain technologies into its flagship products and services. When asked how the firm views Web3, Pichai said there are several "areas of interest" for Alphabet, hinting at augmented reality and exploring how blockchain technology may be utilized to power computing and service layers like YouTube and Google Maps. He said: "Any time there is innovation, I find it exciting, and I think it is something …

Blockchain, cryptocurrency and decentralized technology are all fascinating topics that have been heating up for almost a decade. Nowadays, everyone wants to be part of cutting-edge innovations. A Thursday announcement by Yolande Piazza, Google Cloud's VP Financial Services, said the firm has established a Google Cloud digital assets team that will assist clients in creating, trading, storing value and launching new products on blockchain-based platforms. The blog reads; “This new team will enable our customers to accelerate their efforts in this emerging space and help underpin the blockchain ecosystems of tomorrow.” We're launching a new, dedicated Digital Asset Team to …

Google has hired a former PayPal executive to help bolster Google Pay, with plans to expand into the crypto space. Arnold Goldberg has been given the task of running Google’s payments division as part of a company-wide push into financial services, including crypto. Google’s president of commerce Bill Ready told Bloomberg that: “Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to [...] As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it.” Google Pay is an online payment system developed by Google to allow in-app, online and contactless purchases on mobile devices including Android phones, tablets and watches. …

Web3 and social games publisher Carry1st has raised $20 million in Series A funding to further expand product development in Africa — a continent that could become the premier hub for the gaming industry over the next decade. The investment round was led by Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has been highly active in the blockchain space, with additional participation from Avenir and Google-parent Alphabet. Carry1st’s existing backers, including Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine Ventures and TTV Capital, also participated in the investment round. The cash injection will be used by Carry1st to expand its content portfolio, grow …

For the week ending on Christmas, global searches for the term "NFT," which refers to nonfungible tokens, have surpassed "crypto," according to Google Trends. The sharp increase in search traffic for NFTs offers a clear indication that digital collectibles have entered mainstream consciousness, with transactions on OpenSea, the most popular decentralized platform for NFT auctions and drops, surpassing $10 billion. The huge increase in demand for NFTs is evident across nearly all aspects of society. First, consumer brands such as Nike and Adidas are making their own entry into the realm of metaverse NFTs. Then, celebrities such as Snoop Dog, …