Almost every time Bitcoin experiences a boom, searches related to it go through the roof. Interest, it appears, has a strong correlation with the price of the currency.
Given this tendency, ING found that the amount of interest in the cryptocurrency is set to double in the future. A survey conducted by the bank shows that just below 10% of Europeans own cryptocurrency.
However, the survey also revealed that 16% of the 15,000 people who participated plan to own at least some in the future. Even more interesting is the fact that 15% went on to say that they wouldn’t mind having some Bitcoin in their salary, even considering its volatility.
“Cryptocurrency remains an abstract investment for many, but there may be more appetite for digital currencies than some might suggest. Based on our survey, ownership of cryptocurrencies could more than double in the future—although we don’t know when… The volatility of cryptocurrency carries with it both positives and negatives. On the plus side, it can increase awareness but it may also mean people view digital money as a relatively risky asset. If cryptocurrency stabilizes, there may be increased interest,” said Jessica Exton, a behavioral scientist for ING.
As far as we know, interest in Bitcoin is indeed growing right now, as searches for the cryptocurrency on Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) experienced a peak earlier in the month. We haven’t seen numbers like these since the latter half of April, leading to a possible resurgence in trading activity in the coin.
Even as Bitcoin suffers some slumps due to regulatory pressure and scandals involving exchanges getting attacked, the pick-up in interest might just be what it takes to jump-start activity again in the cryptocurrency market.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
