As a sign of support for the upcoming Ethereum merge, tech giant Google is marking the time left until the upgrade with a new countdown timer.
Typing any variant of “ethereum merge” or “the merge” into the search engine displays a countdown ticker, with the estimated time left until the merge based on the current difficulty, hash rate, and merge difficulty.
Next to it is a cartoon of two happy pandas running towards each other with outstretched hands, which is believed to get closer as the date of the merge approaches.
Google Cloud developer Sam Padilla said in a September 9 tweet that the timer was “a fun little”. Wonder“And” a way to show their appreciation for the work they’ve gone through over the years.
He said the work was done by Google’s Search and Lab team, but noted that they helped “kickstart” the idea and discussion that led to the implementation of Timer.
In the same post, Padilla explained that the timer is directly connected to the blockchain, updating the countdown in real time, stating:
“The underlying data is being pulled directly from the blockchain through some of the nodes we run.”
He also indicated that as the date of the merge nears, the pandas get closer, but with a verbal statement saying: “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
bear with me. https://t.co/jETQpNydLG#the merge#EDCON2021 pic.twitter.com/qSai2Di127
— Hsiao-Wei Wang (@icebearhww) August 29, 2021
Google is rapidly getting into the crypto space, with the company setting up a Web3 team under Google Cloud on May 6.
However, Google developers aren’t the only ones watching the merge with keen interest.
Recent Google search data showed that searches for the term “Ethereum Merge” generated scores above 50 several times over the past 30 days, peaking at 100 on September 3.
A value of 100 is classified as “extreme popularity for the word”, while a value of 50 means that the word is “half popular”. A score of 0 means that there was not enough data for that day.
related: Ethereum Ready to Merge as Last Shadow Fork Completes Successfully
Meanwhile, a recent report by CoinGecko found Singapore to be the most interested country in the upcoming Ethereum merge, followed by Switzerland and Canada, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.
Rankings were determined by analyzing the frequency of ten search terms, including “Ethereum Merge,” “ETH Merge” and “Ethereum PoW,” then combined for an overall ranking.
