Google search data for Bitcoin is now at a two-year low, suggesting that general interest in the crypto sector remains significantly down compared to the pandemic hysteria.
This follows three years of the cryptocurrency sector struggling, until it surged in the latter half of 2020, after weathering the initial storm of the COVID pandemic.
Q1 of 2021 saw the sector jump onto the mainstream stage, as the price of one Bitcoin retook its previous highs and just kept going.
Since then, the scale of the slide in search volume suggests the struggles of the industry, despite a rebound in prices in 2023.
Looking at search interest for the term “Bitcoin” in the US, the financial centre of the world, shows a slightly steeper decline than the worldwide trend. The regulatory clampdown in the country is making it harder for crypto companies to operate, potentially pushing much of crypto activity overseas.
This downward trend in interest has been ongoing since before the 2022 bear market kicked off, and it is being seen in nations around the world, such as Singapore.
Anyone in tune to the crypto markets will be able to tell you that interest is not as high as it was. Google search volume has fallen off drastically, and even with prices rising in 2023, many who have lost interest in crypto are not returning.
Volumes, liquidity and general interest are all correlated. Bitcoin traded at $68,000 in 2021, but since then, it careened down to $15,500 as a result of various scandals, causing institutional and retail money alike to flee the sector.
The big question now is whether crypto can return to its former glory.
