The price of bitcoin tends to mirror people's interest in the cryptocurrency, with the level of Google searches providing a near-perfect correlation to the virtual currency's value. This could be good news for investors, as new research suggests that interest in cryptocurrency is expected to more than double.

The latest consumer economic report from Dutch banking giant ING revealed that fewer than one in 10 Europeans currently own cryptocurrency, however 16 per cent of people expect to own them in the future. Surveying nearly 15,000 people across 13 countries, the Dutch bank said the survey reflects a gradual change in attitude towards cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and ripple.

One of the most surprising findings from the survey was that 15 per cent of respondents said they would consider receiving their salary in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, despite their notorious volatility.

Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins – the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices Lazlo Hanyecz Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash REUTERS Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters

The survey's publication comes as bitcoin hovers around its lowest price of 2018, having briefly fallen below $6,000 on Sunday, 24 June. Analysts have blamed the most recent price crash on a series of hacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as an increased focus on regulation in the space.

Bitcoin has since returned above $6,000 but still remains at around 30 per cent of the highs it reached late last year.

Cryptocurrency uptake could more than double in the coming years (REUTERS)

The latest research from ING will be welcomed by investors, especially those who bought into bitcoin during the massive interest in the cryptocurrency in December 2017.

Of those surveyed, more than a third said that they thought cryptocurrency represented the future of spending online, with a similar share also agreeing that it is the future of investing.

"Cryptocurrency remains an abstract investment for many, but there may be more appetite for digital currencies than some might suggest," said Jessica Exton, a behavioural scientist at ING.

Graph showing the percentage of those who own cryptocurrency versus the share of people who expect to own cryptocurrency (ING)

"Based on our survey, ownership of cryptocurrencies could more than double in the future – although we do not know when... The volatility of cryptocurrency carries with it both positives and negatives, on the plus side it can increase awareness but may also mean people view digital money as a relatively risky asset. If cryptocurrency stabilises there may be increased interest.”

According to Teunis Brosens, an economist of global markets at ING, cryptocurrency holds the most promise in countries where the traditional financial system is less efficient.