- California generated 43% of all US web searches for Bitcoin and Ethereum in Q2 2022, despite holding just 11.9% of the country’s population.
- CoinGecko collected the data between 2 May and 21 August 2022.
- Illinois and New York ranked second and third; Arizona closed out the top 10.
- Colorado, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Florida searched for Ethereum more often than Bitcoin.
- Silicon Valley’s tech base and a cluster of crypto projects (The Graph, Helium, MakerDAO, dYdX) help explain California’s lead.
The state of California alone accounts for 43% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches, according to a new report from CoinGecko. The 43% figure is remarkable, considering that California makes up for only 11.9% of the US population.
The data was collected through web traffic during the second quarter of 2022, between 2 May and 21 August 2022.
With the upcoming Merge impacting Ethereum’s popularity, price, and overall utility, the report can serve as an interesting point of comparison to see where Ethereum stands, assuming that the study is replicated in the next quarter.
Why California leads US Bitcoin and Ethereum searches
Interesting as the finding about California is, it does not entirely come as a surprise. Co-founder of CoinGecko, Bobby Ong, even commented on the findings, saying it is “unsurprising” since California is a major tech hub. Silicon Valley is the home to tech giants like Apple, Google, Meta, PayPal, and Wells Fargo.
In addition, many cryptos and Web 3.0 projects are stationed in California, including The Graph, Helium, MakerDAO, and dYdX.
Additional data from the report
States that followed Chicago’s lead included Illinois, New York, Florida, Washington, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and Arizona, in that order.
Another interesting fact the report threw up was that four US states saw more web searches for Ethereum than Bitcoin. The states that are more interested in ETH are Colorado, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Florida.
The US is leading the world in crypto transactions and trading volume and shares the top spot with Germany in terms of crypto-friendly regulation and legislation. The two countries beat pro-crypto countries like Singapore, Australia, and Switzerland, according to a July 2022 report by crypto data aggregator Coincub.
FAQs
1. Which US state searches for Bitcoin and Ethereum the most?
California, by a wide margin. CoinGecko’s Q2 2022 data put the state at 43% of all US Bitcoin and Ethereum web traffic searches.
2. How was the CoinGecko data measured?
It came from web traffic to CoinGecko’s Bitcoin and Ethereum pages, recorded between 2 May and 21 August 2022, and then broken down by US state.
3. Does high search interest mean high crypto ownership?
No. Search traffic shows curiosity and attention, not wallets or trading volume. A state with a large tech workforce can rank high on searches without leading on ownership.
4. Which states preferred Ethereum over Bitcoin?
Colorado, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Florida were the four states where Ethereum drew more searches than Bitcoin during the study window.
