Crypto May Be Waning On Google Trends, But Bitcoin Exudes Strength

The “crypto” and “Bitcoin” search terms may have recently seen lackluster performances on Google Trends, but many argue that this ecosystem is still exuding strength.

“Crypto” on Google Trends In Decline, But Bitcoin Still Sees Use

Mati Greenspan, eToro’s in-house crypto researcher, recently took to Twitter to convey his analysis of the current state of the cryptocurrency market. He noted that while “Bitcoin” searches moved higher over recent days, the search term is still far from where it was prior to November’s drastic plunge. Analysis of “crypto” on Google Trends is much of the same. In spite of this, however, Greenspan subsequently noted that this budding space still has a lot going for it.

Google searches for #Bitcoin have ticked up during the current rally but, unlike #crypto volumes, is nowhere near what it was during the November plunge. pic.twitter.com/s0ilALRxqU

— Mati Greenspan (@MatiGreenspan) February 21, 2019

The Tel Aviv-based investor specifically drew attention to market volumes, noting that last week’s rally, which sent BTC above $3,700, $3,800, and $3,900 in rapid succession saw the highest activity since April of 2018.

He noted that the Bitcoin Network (blockchain) has also seen solid growth, citing the fact that there is an average of 3.87 BTC transactions per second, near the all-time high it established at the peak of 2017’s rally.

Lastly, he noted that the steady growth in volume on LocalBitcoins, the primary trading platform utilized in emerging markets (namely Venezuela, Argentina, etc.), should also have investors bullish.

What Else Does Bitcoin Have Going For It?

Although the aforementioned factors are great in and of itself, there is an array of other factors that could set a positive precedent for cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, moving forward.

• Jack Dorsey Looks to Integrate Lightning Into Twitter and Square — Jack Dorsey of both Twitter and Square, who believes BTC will become the Internet’s native currency, recently divulged he is looking into integrating the Lightning Network into his two multi-billion dollar enterprises.
• Elon Musk Enamored With Bitcoin’s Structure — Elon Musk recently explained that the “Bitcoin structure was (is) quite brilliant,” adding that Ethereum and “maybe some of the others” have merit too. Musk did admit, however, that he isn’t too enamored with Bitcoin’s mining consensus mechanism, noting that it is rather energy inefficient.
• Google Adds ₿ On IOS Keyboard — In a sign of support for the flagship cryptocurrency, Google quietly added the “₿” symbol to its keyboard (GBoard) on IOS over recent weeks. It now appears when users hard press the “$”. It isn’t clear why Google made this move, or when exactly it occurred, but it shows that the Silicon Valley mainstay acknowledges the cryptocurrency as bonafide.
• Samsung Galaxy S10 To Include Native Bitcoin Wallet — After months of rumors, Samsung unveiled its new flagship — the Galaxy S10 — at its Unpacked event. While the announcement was the same old, same old, with a flashy keynote, extremely extensive media coverage, and marginal (yet visible) improvements over last year’s phone, something caught the eye of crypto industry participants across the board. According to a press release issued as Unpacked trended on Twitter, the entire S10 lineup will have a blockchain- and crypto-centric feature. The release read that the S10 is built with “defense-grade Samsung Knox,” along with hardware that “houses private keys for blockchain-enabled mobile services.” Although the words “crypto” and “wallet” weren’t explicitly divulged, many believe this facet of the press release indicates that Samsung likely has a wallet or cryptocurrency private key solution product ready to ship for S10 buyers.
• Facebook’s Crypto Divison — After rumors arose that Facebook is looking into launching its own stablecoin, Mark Zuckerberg took to an interview with a Harvard Law professor to note that his company is looking to put a facet of its social media ecosystem onto a ledger.
• Launch Of Fidelity, Bakkt, Etc. — The launch of Fidelity Investments’ crypto division, the Wall Street-backed Bakkt, among other pro-investment platforms are poised to launch in the coming months.
• CME Bitcoin Futures Set Record Volumes: Per exclusive data gathered by The Block, the Bitcoin futures market backed by the Chicago-based CME has garnered monumental levels of attention as of late. Citing an internal email, February 19th, not 24 hours after the aggregate value of all digital assets spiked by 10%, saw CME’s biggest Bitcoin trading session ever in a seeming bear market rally. The firm’s futures vehicle, launched when Bitcoin was trading at $20,000 a piece, saw 18,338 contracts, valued at 91,690 BTC ($360 million), traded on that day alone. Compared to the product’s 4,630 contracts in average daily volumes over recent quarters, the 19th’s session was undoubtedly staggering.

Per previous reports from BlockGeeks, the fact that Bitcoin transacts over $1 billion in value each and every day, coupled with the fact that government debt is establishing all-time highs, has also made many analysts claim that the cryptocurrency is stronger than ever. In fact, Spencer Bogart recently claimed that by many measures, BTC could currently be the world’s most compelling asset.

Photo by Dmitry Moraine on Unsplash