Is crypto again boring?
This may be one interpretation of the search data that The Defiant examined this week. Key crypto-related search terms have declined since January, suggesting that retailers and DeFi tourists are withdrawing from this sector.
According to Google Trends data, cryptographic keyword searches have been steadily declining overall since then. Sales of “NFT” have fallen by two-thirds since their peak in January, suggesting that the non-fungible token market has cooled significantly.
Lowest level
Ethereum and Bitcoin traffic has also halved since January and is currently trending at the lowest level since December 2020.
Naturally, really. The crypto market has been more volatile than usual since its all-time high in November last year. For the past two years, cryptocurrencies have captured the imagination of general investors and Wall Street institutions alike. The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred an unprecedented state-sponsored stimulus, and zero-commission platforms like Robin Hood have made trading much easier.
Digital assets made remarkable progress in early 2021, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk converting his followers to Bitcoin and Dogecoin, and the launch of the Beacon Chain started the Eth2 roadmap. The market finally culminated in May, after which interest surged and the launch of the NFT and EIP-1559 Ethereum regained public attention.
Investors have receded since cryptocurrencies peaked in November and the NFT bubble peaked in January.
While the 2017 Bull Run was driven by new retail interest in Bitcoin, according to Google Trends data, the Bull market in mid-2021 set a precedent for Ethereum and Dogecoin, in addition to the resurgence of BTC traffic. Supported by no demand.
Source: Google Trends
In May 2021, Bitcoin searches fell a quarter below 2017 highs and temporarily surpassed Dogecoin, but Ethereum traffic surged to record highs.
In contrast, the rise to a record high in November 2021 seems to have been driven by growing interest in NFTs. Bitcoin and Ethereum also experienced a significant increase in search volume in the third quarter, which peaked in October. This was just a few weeks before the crypto asset market hit its current highs, but search traffic peaked at about half of what was recorded in May.
The number of searches for “NFT” continued to rise until the non-alternative market peaked in January, when the term was 170% higher than Ethereum. Bitcoin and Ethereum searches returned to October levels in January, even though many crypto assets reached the top in November.
However, traffic in key crypto terms has since been depleted.
Source: Google Trends
Google data shows that recent bull markets for various crypto asset classes have been driven by different geographic regions over the past year.
NFT’s Google traffic originates primarily from Asia, with Singapore, Hong Kong and China dominating the search. Taiwan and the Philippines have also promoted a significant amount of searches.
Dogecoinmania
In contrast, Dogecoinmania was primarily a Western phenomenon, with the majority of searches being in Turkey, the United States and Canada. Singapore, the Netherlands and Australia are also important traffic for Dogecoin.
Most of Bitcoin’s searches have come from El Salvador in the last 12 months, making it the first country in September to accept Bitcoin as the legal tender for all transactions in a small country in Central America. Bitcoin’s Salvador traffic is three times higher than the second-placed Netherlands, followed by Nigeria, Turkey and Austria.
Ethereum was also searched in various regions, with Kosovo, Singapore, and North Macedonia at the top of the list. Canada, Switzerland and Turkey have also shown great interest in computers around the world in the last 12 months.
