Share this article
Bitcoin Among Year's Top Searches, Google Data Says
New data from Google suggests internet users searched for information on bitcoin at a rate that outpaced some of the top news stories this year.
By Wolfie Zhao
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:19 a.m. Published Dec 28, 2017, 10:00 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Are people searching more for news about bitcoin or North Korea?
According to recently released data from Google, bitcoin may be on top. As detailed in the search giant's "Year in Search 2017," an overview of what was trending in 2017, bitcoin ranked second under the "Global News" category, a distinction that indicates search volume was higher for the technology than even some of the year's more talked-about news events including the Les Vegas shooting and this year's Solar Eclipse.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Similarly, "How to buy bitcoin" also took the third spot under the list's "How to..." search category.
In this way, the news perhaps provides context by putting an estimate on just how strong the attention on bitcoin and cryptocurrency has been in 2017 during what was a historic run-up in market prices.
As charted by the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), the price of bitcoin grew by 20x over the course of 2017, rising from roughly $900 in January to an all-time-high at $19,783 in December. The cryptocurrency market capitalization also topped over $650 billion, up from $17 billion since early January, data from CoinMarketCap shows.
Yet what's also interesting is that users from outside the U.S. seem to be boosting bitcoin's overall ranking. In a U.S. country breakdown, for instance, Google's data indicates that bitcoin-related terms ranked lower than they did on the global breakdown.
Indeed, searching "bitcoin" in Google Trends reveals the countries most contributing to current volume include South Africa, Slovenia, Netherlands, Nigeria and Austria, while the U.S. ranks 16th on the list.
Screen capture from Google Trend. Globe image via CoinDesk's archive.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
Lebih untuk Anda
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest files for two crypto index ETFs tied to CoinDesk 20
One proposed fund will attempt to exactly mimic the CoinDesk 20, but the other would track the index, excluding bitcoin.
Yang perlu diketahui:
- ARK Invest has filed with U.S. regulators to launch two cryptocurrency ETFs tracking the CoinDesk 20 index.
- One proposed fund would track the CoinDesk 20, which provides exposure to major tokens, including bitcoin, ether, solana, XRP, and cardano. The other would track the same index, but exclude bitcoin, by pairing long index futures with short bitcoin futures.
- The funds, which would list on NYSE Arca if approved, aim to offer diversified crypto exposure without direct token custody and follow similar, still-unapproved crypto index ETF proposals from WisdomTree and ProShares.
Top Stories
