More people around the world are interested in the Bitcoin halving this year compared to 2020.
The appeal of Bitcoin (BTC) halving has nearly doubled since the previous four-year block reward cut, according to CoinWire research provided to crypto.news.
The company analyzed global Google Trends data this year and found that BTC halving interest scores increased 51 to 100 days before the halving event compared to previous cycles.
The first halving in November 2012 marked a zero on the trend chart. Because blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are relatively new to the financial curiosity. In July 2016, the score rose to 4, and by the third halving in May 2020, it had skyrocketed nearly 13 times.
Europe dominates BTC halving
Despite the Bitcoin spot ETF being approved in the US and trading volume reaching $200 billion, European countries dominated Google searches related to Bitcoin halving. The top five countries included the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Austria and Singapore.
Excluding Singapore, the top 10 cities showing great interest in Bitcoin halving were also found in Europe. Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, scored 100, according to a report by CoinWire.
Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands followed Switzerland with 98 and 93 points, respectively. Vienna, Austria and Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne in Germany round out the list of ten regions boasting the highest curiosity about Bitcoin halving.
Among countries searching for Bitcoin halving information, the United States ranked 22nd, but demand was still high in US states. North Dakota and South Dakota tied with Zurich at 100 points, according to CoinWire analysis.
BTC Halving Could Cause DeFi Boom
Analysts assume that this year’s halving could be different in terms of price impact and new stories due to spot Bitcoin ETFs and the growing decentralized finance (defi) movement on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin DeFi emerged after developer Casey Rodarmor released the Ordinals protocol. It allows users to enter data in the smallest units of BTC, known as Satoshi or SATS.
Pseudonym builder Domo has also expanded on this idea, creating the BRC-20 standard, similar to Ethereum (ETH) ERC-20, the popular architecture used for digital assets on the cryptocurrency’s second-largest blockchain.
Bitget senior analyst Ryan Lee told crypto.news that users could see demand for BTC solutions and decentralized apps (dapps) as the halving draws more attention to the world’s leading decentralized network.
“The deep-rooted positive buyer sentiment sparked by Bitcoin has fueled the DeFi boom as many innovators have begun exploring BTC’s DeFi movement. This innovation, in particular, is in its infancy. However, we expect this to form the next major trend that could help return positive value to Bitcoin supporters beyond ETF offerings.”
Ryan Lee, Bitget Senior Analyst