Asian Countries Dominate in Google Search Trends for NFTs

The year 2021 has propounded many trends in the digital currency ecosystem with Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) coming off as the most hyped. From retail investors to corporate outfits, the interest in the NFT metaverse peaked in the year-to-date period as many are being exposed to the massive opportunities inherent in this blockchain use case.

According to data from Google Trends, searches for ‘NFT’ are growing more popular in the Asia Pacific (APAC) Region. China takes the top spot for the most searches relating to NFTs with 100 points over the past 12 months. Singapore ranks second with 75 points, and Hong Kong completes the top 3 with 63 points. Venezuela and the Philippines occupied the fourth and fifth positions with 56 and 53 points respectively.

Google NFT Search Interest by Region. Source: Google

NFTs provide a way for artists to register the ownership of a digital asset on the blockchain, thus granting creators the ability to secure their Intellectual Property (IP) and earn the right rewards for them. Artworks and digital collectibles that were created and secured on the blockchain can be traded on a number of marketplaces, the most popular of which is OpenSea.

From the Google Trends data, it is obvious that the interest in the NFT is thought through as searches for the OpenSea marketplace also feature China at the very top. China comes off with 100 points for OpenSea searches with Singapore and Hong Kong featuring in the top 5 with 39 and 30 points.

NFT Google Trends: ASwitching From Crypto to NFT

Chinese regulatory authorities showcased their intolerance for cryptocurrencies activities including mining and transactions in general by banning all crypto-related activities per an earlier report from TheCoinRise.

With digital currencies proscribed as illegal, the crypto investors in China appear to be exploring other avenues of interest, and NFTs come off as a perfect match. Should the Google Trend data be a yardstick for measuring investor action, then the massive volumes on marketplaces like the OpenSea can be attributed to APAC investors, a validation that is yet to be ascertained.