As we get closer to year-end, Coronavirus is not the only term that people are searching on Google. Bitcoin, the world’s largest crypto by market cap, is attracting more attention during unprecedented times. If we take a look at key Google metrics, Bitcoin is experiencing heavy search traffic compared to historical averages. What are some of the fundamental reasons driving peak popularity in BTC Google searches?
Bitcoin Search Volume – Peak Popularity
As we enter the last month in 2020, Bitcoin seems to be putting the finishing touches on a terrific year. Aside from the digital asset surging ~ 135% during a global pandemic, it has also come extremely close to powering through all-time highs. This behavior has not gone unnoticed, as retail, institutions, and corporates are pouring into the emerging asset class. During these activities, people around the globe are becoming more interested in Bitcoins infrastructure. If we take a look at Google Trends, it now shows Bitcoin searches hitting peak popularity over the last 12 months.
As we can see from the chart above, Bitcoin’s “interest over time” recently hit 100. The 100 metric denotes “peak popularity” when comparing a given timeline. In this scenario, Google is displaying the search term during the last 12 months. This is not surprising given the fact that Bitcoin recently hovered around all-time highs not seen since December 2017.
If you look at Google search activity back in 2017, it supports the theory that $20,000 levels for Bitcoin this time around could just be the beginning…
Bitcoin 2017 All-Time Google Activity
In the chart above, we simply looked at the 12-month data. Bitcoins search interest has been directly correlated to price action. With BTC hitting peak popularity this month, how does this popularity compare to a similar setting in 2017?
The comparison can be seen by taking a look at the 5-year chart. When Bitcoin cracked its all-time high in 2017, the search interest was actually significantly higher than right now. According to the data, search interest in 2017 was about 5X larger than current search interest. This is significant for a few different reasons. During the next bull run, many investors have argued a $100K price target. Despite this sounding crazy, it could actually make sense when assessing interest levels.
If BTC price and Google search trends stay correlated, then BTC could see 4-5X growth from current levels to reach 2017 interest levels. On social media, many people have also stated that this bull run has been a lot “quieter” than the initial one in 2017. This makes complete sense when looking at the data above. Even during parabolic moves, interest levels in 2020 are still quite light.
The statements above could also be argued. One could argue that interest levels are much lower this time around since people either know about Bitcoin or got burned in 2017 and no longer have an interest. This makes sense, but we have to understand the strides Bitcoin has taken in 2020. An easy example would be PayPal’s decision to offer cryptocurrency solutions. This was one of the biggest announcements the crypto sector has ever received. PayPal is essentially giving 200M users the ability to purchase, sell, and hold digital assets. Many first time users are curious and are leveraging the internet to learn about this asset class. What if $20,000 is just the beginning?
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