By
Bhushan Akolkar
August 29th, 2022
Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin-related terms take top positions in Google’s list of trending searches. “How to buy Bitcoin” takes the third place, giving way to slime and solar eclipse glasses.
Recently Google brought out its list of the most popular topics for search in 2017. And the list turned out to be astonishing: Bitcoin and how to buy it were the most frequent search terms in the outgoing year.
According to data from Google, Bitcoin took the second position under the category “Global News”. The search giant’s rating “Year in Search 2017” shows that search volume for cryptocurrency was higher than for some of the year’s most hot-discussed events, such as the Las Vegas shooting and this year’s Solar Eclipse.
Cryptocurrency burned across the list’s search category “How to…” as well. The third line in this list belongs to “How to buy bitcoin” search. “How to make slime” and “How to make solar eclipse glasses” took the first and the second places accordingly. Slime became a trending topic after online videos showing what you can make from the gooey substance gained popularity.
As for the glasses, they became popular in August, when the solar eclipse took place. To watch this event, many people scurried to find the special glasses. Experts warned the public of counterfeits on the market, so people turned to Google in order to figure out how to make their own spectacles.
In recent months, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin have been drawing attention of more and more people who intend to invest their money in digital currencies and thus consider the benefits, drawbacks and possible risks of putting their finances up.
Outstanding individuals like legendary investor Jack Bogle and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary warn potential investors about the risks they may face putting their money in Bitcoin. On the other hand, looking at success of the Winklevoss twins, the world’s first Bitcoin billionaires, dispels doubts whether the investment is worth risk taking.
In 2017 the cryptocurrency price and its ups and downs were as relevant as ever, and attention on Bitcoin during a historic run-up in market prices was especially strong. According to the data from CoinMarketCap, the price of bitcoin grew by more than 20 times during 2017, rising from roughly $900 in January to the record level of $20,089 in December. As data from CoinMarketCap indicate, since early January the cryptocurrency market capitalization also exceeded $600 billion, up from $17 billion.
It is interesting is that Bitcoin is of high concern not only in the USA. Users from outside the U.S. seem to be boosting Bitcoin’s overall ranking. Searching “bitcoin” in Google Trends reveals that the countries most contributing to current search volume include South Africa, Slovenia, Netherlands, Nigeria and Austria, while the U.S. ranks 16th on the list. West Australians search for ways to buy Bitcoin as well.
How to interpret the trends is a matter for sociologists. But it is doubtless that among the “rising” trends Bitcoin comes with those recording the biggest jump from the previous year.
