The year 2020 has started off with a bang for cryptocurrency market and especially for bitcoin. After witnessing a rather dull ‘bear market’ for nearly 2 years, the second half of 2019 has set things in quick momentum. 

With the price of bitcoin trading near $9000, at the time of writing, we take a look at a controversial relation of bitcoin prices with google search trends. 

Bitcoin Price and Google Search Trends: A Year In Review

It all started with the year 2017 when the price of one bitcoin was worth around $20,000. The sudden jump shot in BTC price consequently spiked interest for bitcoin. During the same period, google search trends witnessed a high search volume for the term ‘bitcoin’. In the week of December 17 to 23, the google search trends value climbed 100. This started a trend with a direct impact on google search with sudden movements in bitcoin price. 

The bull market for bitcoin, however, did not last very long. The price of the market started dwindling down in the first quarter of 2018 and along with that, the subsequent interest for the search term bitcoin. The bear market lasted for nearly 2 years with bitcoin losing as much as 85% of its value, at a point in time. 

Things started uplifting in the second quarter of 2019. Bitcoin started gaining the lost momentum from April 2019. From April to May, when the difference in one bitcoin increased more than $3000, the subsequent google search trends increased from 27 to 69. 

Moreover, as bitcoin continued its rally, with peak levels reaching $12,000 in June 2019, the search index level reached 100. 

However, the search index graph also shows another insight. While the search index has piqued nearly every time there are movements in the price of BTC, it has not managed to climb even near to the levels of 2017. This is clearly indicated from the graph below. 

The Latest Bitcoin Rally

This year has started off on a positive note as far as bitcoin is concerned. In a mere 15 days, the price of bitcoin has reached $9000, trading from the $7000 in December 2019. However, analyzing the chart shows that the search interest for bitcoin has nearly remained the same. There has not been any significant difference in the search volume even with the rising value of bitcoin. 

However, another search term that has piqued interest among people is ‘bitcoin Iran’. Amid the rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, this search term has climbed almost 4000% with its value reaching 100. 

Moreover, people have found bitcoin as safe heaven among the rising economic tensions and falling fiat currencies. This can be clearly noted from the search results, which come from weak economies like South Africa and Nigeria. The declining local currencies have made people find refuge in bitcoin, which is not controlled by any central authority. 

Bitcoin Halving Search Term

Another significant event to look forward to this year is the bitcoin halving. After this milestone, which is set to take place in May 2020, the rewards per block will reduce to 6.25 BTC from 12.5 BTC. The last event, which took place in 2016, directly impacted the price of bitcoin. 

All in all, this year seems to bring a ray of hope for crypto enthusiasts. The worldwide adoption of cryptocurrency and bitcoin is growing. Furthermore, the bitcoin halving event is also expected to bring positive news.