Bitcoin prices struggle near $20,000 as Google data shows declining interest
Bitcoin prices have been trading near $20,000 at a time when search interest is relatively low. … [+]
Bitcoin prices fell below $20,000 yesterday, hitting a roughly six-week low, and have not been able to recover since then.
The digital currency briefly dipped below this key psychological level early on August 27, according to TradingView data.
Later in the day, the cryptocurrency tanked and repeatedly fell below $19,900, additional TradingView figures show.
Today, the digital asset fluctuated within a modest range, rising above $20,000 more than once, but below $20,150.
Bitcoin also generated lower lows, falling to $19,823.00 around 10:30 a.m. ET, hitting its lowest since roughly July 14.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Falling search interest
The digital currency experienced these price swings after a period when search interest for the term “Bitcoin”, as measured by Google Trends, continued to fall.
Interest in the term has been declining since about mid-June, reaching a reading of 26 for the week of August 21-27, a Google Trends search of the past 12 months shows.
When analyzing the term with this time frame, search interest hit its highest point, indicated by a value of 100, during the week between June 12 and June 18.
After the recent high, it dropped significantly, falling below 50 during the week of June 26 to July 2 and then falling below 30 this month.
The diagram below helps depict this activity:
12-Month Google Trends Data for “Bitcoin”
Search interest and price activity
Noticeable changes in this search interest have often corresponded with sharp changes in the digital currency’s price.
A perfect example of this is the year 2017, when interest in the term “Bitcoin” reached an all-time high in December.
The digital currency experienced very compelling gains that year, rising astronomically as it generated widespread visibility and attracted a large number of retail investors.
The chart below, which looks at Google Trends search interest for “Bitcoin” throughout the history of the digital currency, helps illustrate these fluctuations:
Google Trends data for “Bitcoin” goes back to 2004.
Another example of how strong interest in the term “Bitcoin” can correspond to convincing increases in the digital currency’s value is the first half of 2021.
When examined over the past two years, the search interest measure reached 97 between January 3 and 9 and then 100 between May 16 and 22.
Later in 2021, the price of bitcoin reached an all-time high near $68,000 on TradingView.
Outlook
While search interest in the term “Bitcoin” may not be very high right now compared to some points in history, it’s worth remembering that the digital currency is still trading near $20,000, which is significantly more than the cryptocurrency’s value at many points in the past.
The digital asset has gone through several cycles where it rose to fresh all-time highs and then suffered significant losses.
For example, bitcoin approached $20,000 in late 2017, but then lost the vast majority of its value within a year.
The cryptocurrency then pushed higher, approaching $68,000 in late 2021, reaching a new all-time high more than 200% above the previous record it set in December 2017.
Currently, bitcoin is down close to 70% from its all-time high, but if it enters another period of continued gains, it could once again benefit from some very compelling upside, rising to price levels it has never seen before.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether, EOS and sol.
