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Japan Consumer Affairs Agency: Cryptocurrency Search Index Up 170% in 2018

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Japan Consumer Affairs Agency: Cryptocurrency Search Index Up 170% in 2018

On June 18, the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan reported that in 2018, consumer inquiries about cryptocurrency increased by 170% compared to the previous year.

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Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) is an administrative agency of the Cabinet of Japan responsible for the daily affairs of the government's administrative departments, and submits an annual report to the Diet on consumer affairs and consumer protection issues.

Research by the CAA shows that in 2018, there were 3,657 inquiries about cryptocurrency, which is approximately 1.7 times more than the previous year. The growth rate of such inquiries has been slowing down, as in 2017 the increase was 3.5 times. According to a report, the annual growth has remained steady since 2014.

The main topics of consumer inquiries to the CAA include the credibility of cryptocurrency exchanges, refund requests, security-related issues, and difficulties in registration or payment. The agency further revealed that in some surveys, users find cryptocurrency investment more challenging compared to traditional assets.

Additionally, a foreign report found a peculiar trend in Google searches for Bitcoin in South Korea. In the data of the past seven days, using "Bitcoin" as a keyword, a regular pattern can be observed in the chart, with search peaks consistently occurring at the same time each day.

The chart indicates that the popular search times are usually around 7 a.m. daily.

The author of the article provided an explanation:

The people of Korea cannot live without Bitcoin. They wake up, go to work, take the subway, and the first thing on their minds is Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency has become a part of daily life for Koreans.

In fact, Korea accounts for about 30% of the total global cryptocurrency trading volume. Moreover, the government is actively promoting innovative technologies, having spent nearly 1 trillion Korean won, equivalent to 880 million US dollars, on blockchain development in 2019 alone. Such substantial financial support undoubtedly benefits the development of Bitcoin, and it is easy to understand the enthusiasm of Koreans for cryptocurrency.

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