There are several metrics that can be used to measure market sentiment and general interest. Google searches are one and they are up for bitcoin by a big margin.
During the depths of crypto winter market sentiment and general interest wanes as bitcoin and crypto assets are put on the back burner for casual traders and the general public.
Only when bitcoin starts surging again, and especially when it tops $10,000, do people start paying attention again.
Taking a look at Google search trends can give us an indication as to how much interest there is from the general public and whether it could result in another round of FOMO.
Bitcoin Google Search Surges
Google searches for bitcoin have surged by 33% over the past week which is picking up from a six month low.
33% wow pic.twitter.com/FK2Tnw2wVP
— Hernz (@hernzzzzzz) February 10, 2020
Unsurprisingly the peaks in searches coincide with the two peaks in BTC price, the first in December 2017 and the second in June 2019. Since the beginning of this year searches have increased by around 37% globally.
It does appear though that people start searching for bitcoin after the asset has peaked though not many can reliably predict where that top will be.
What is more interesting, but again predictable, is that Google searches for ‘bitcoin halving’ has shown an even steeper rise as the event approaches.
The event is now only 90 days away and sentiment has turned bullish following the asset’s recent gains. Many are predicting a five figure halving and a huge rally the following year.
Search patterns may indicate general interest and whether there is likely to be a huge fear of missing out from the masses. This could have the effect of pushing prices even higher as it did during that epic surge in December 2017.
Ethereum Searches Up
Ethereum, which has had a huge seven week green run, has also experienced a sharp uptick in searches this month as prices have topped $200 and hit a six month high.
The increase really began at the beginning of this month as prices moved off the long term support level and surged towards $230 over the past week.
Other generic search terms such as ‘crypto’ or ‘cryptocurrency’ are relatively flat suggesting that people are searching for specific coins and tokens.
There was a little spike for XRP searches last week when it was moving but it has since declined.
Are Google searches a good indicator of market sentiment? Add your comments below.
