Will the plunge in NFT Google searches repeat the mistakes of the 2018 ICO bubble?

NFT searches drop dramatically

The year 2020 for decentralized finance is the year 2021 for NFTs so far. While NFTs weren’t invented this year, they have seen a huge surge in popularity over the past few months.

In the same time frame, everything became NFT. From digital artworks, albums, rare collectibles to historic tweets and announcements. Countless celebrities got involved and actively talked about the new hot topic of cryptocurrency and NFT.

Naturally, the craze also attracted retail investors — and to get in on the NFT bandwagon, they turned to Google. CryptoPotato reported in early March that queries for “NFT” on the world’s largest search engine surged to a new all-time high — and stayed that way for several weeks.

However, the latest data shows a reversal of trend, with the number of searches having almost halved since the peak in March.

Google Searches for NFT 12-m Back. Source: Google Trend

Additionally, the average selling price of NFTs fell by about 70% from February to early April, suggesting that the non-fungible token craze may be fading.

Will the ICO bubble repeat itself?

Anyone who has been interested in the cryptocurrency space since (at least) 2017 has undoubtedly heard of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Long before DeFi and NFTs hit the main stage, investors were lining up in (virtual) queues to put their money into ICOs.

Whenever a new project emerges that promises to bring revolutionary breakthrough solutions to every area of ​​human existence, it raises tens of millions of dollars within a few days.

Those who were still interested in the space in 2018 witnessed the massive bursting of that bubble. A few years later, the similarities between the two extend beyond the massive amounts of money invested in unproven projects and the use of the Ethereum blockchain.

Both have made their way into the mainstream media. Both have had sometimes-questionable celebrity endorsements, and last but not least, both have been the hottest topics of discussion among crypto insiders and outsiders for months.

The claim that NFTs are in a bubble is often backed up by reports claiming that NFTs are in a bubble right now. Even insiders including Beeple (the artist who sold an NFT for a record-breaking $69 million) have said that the industry is “definitely” in a bubble.

So, given the above information, NFTs may soon become the latest cryptocurrency “crisis” considering the loss of interest, falling prices, and comparisons to 2018 ICOs.

Note: The original text comes from CryptoPotato, translated by Carole, and the English copyright belongs to the original author.