It’s official: The UK has voted to leave the European Union, and the internet is in a frenzy.
The Leave campaign scored a tight victory over Remain by garnering just shy of 52% of the total vote. This decision is sure to have far-reaching effects on Britain for years to come.
But in the short-term, we’re already seeing some of the immediate impacts of Brexit online.
Britain has voted to leave the European Union
1. People don’t understand Brexit
Across the UK, 72.2% of a confirmed 46,500,0001 electorate turned out to vote in the EU referendum. But it seems plenty of people aren’t even sure what they voted for.
Google has reported an incredible 250% spike in the search term “what happens if we leave the EU?” at midnight last night.
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Related: How tech bigwigs saw the UK Brexit debate
2. Petition for second referendum crashes
An online petition demanding a second referendum has crashed the Parliament’s ‘Petitions’ website. At the time of writing, the petition has been signed by 91,150 people, but many would-be signatories are unable to get online.
The petition has already passed the 10,000 signature milestone that forces the government to issue a response. It’s now fast-approaching the 100,000 mark, which means the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
https://twitter.com/statuses/746286041112453120
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The web-masters have confirmed that they’re aware of the problem and are working on a fix.
3. Bitcoin is surging
It’s not all bad news, mind. Bitcoin, the world’s best known digital currency, has rocketed in value, rising to an incredible $768.24 per unit. That’s compared to its $417 price at the start of April, and the $561.46 value on polling day – Thursday, June 23. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is worth $662.86.
The news comes at the British pound tumbles to a 30-year low when priced against the dollar as a result of yesterday’s Brexit vote.
4. XE.com is down
XE.com, the world’s biggest online currency exchange, has also collapsed under increased traffic. The Canada-based exchange is currently inaccessible for many users
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The Refresh: Catch up on the latest news
What’s your take on Brexit’s impact so far? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
