Typing any variation of “Ethereum Merge” or “The Merge” into the search engine brings up a countdown, with the estimated time left until the merge based on the current difficulty, hash rate, and merge difficulty. On the side is a cartoon of two happy pandas running towards each other with outstretched arms, which are supposed to get closer as the Merge date approaches. A screenshot of the countdown at the time of writing. Source: Google Google Cloud developer Sam Padilla said in a Sept. 9 tweet that the timer was “a fun little surprise” and a way to show their appreciation for “the work that’s been going into this for years.” He said the work was done by Google’s search and labs team, but noted that he helped “spark” the idea and discussion that led to the timer’s implementation. In the same post, Padilla explained that the timer connects directly to the blockchain, updating the countdown in real time, stating: “The underlying data is pulled directly from the blockchain through some of the nodes we run.” He also hinted that everything is getting closer as the Merge date approaches, but made an honest statement, saying, “But you didn’t hear that from me.” Show understanding. pic.twitter.com/qSai2Di127 — Hsiao-Wei Wang (@icebearhww) August 29, 2021 Google is getting more involved in the crypto space, with the company creating a Web3 team under Google Cloud on May 6. But Google developers aren’t the only ones watching Merge with keen interest. Recent Google search data revealed that searches for the term “Ethereum Merger” generated a score of over 50 multiple times in the past 30 days, peaking at 100 on September 3rd. Search Trends for “Ethereum Merger” Source: Google A value of 100 is classified as “maximum popularity for the term”, while a value of 50 means that the term is “half as popular”. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for that day. Meanwhile, a recent report by CoinGecko found Singapore as the country most interested in the upcoming Ethereum merger, followed by Switzerland and Canada, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands. The rankings were determined by analyzing the frequency of ten search terms, including “Ethereum Merge,” “ETH Merge,” and “Ethereum PoW,” and then combining them for the overall ranking.
