Data: Google searches for the term 'buy crypto' hit an all-time high

Cryptocurrency analytics firm The Tie said Google searches for the term “buy cryptocurrency” surged to an all-time high in January, far exceeding the previous peak in early 2018.
On Google Trends, relative search interest for the term “buy cryptocurrency” is at an all-time high.
— The TIE (@TheTIEIO) February 1, 2021
The keyword “buy cryptocurrency” has a Google Trends index of 100, indicating the highest relative interest.
Ethereum saw a similar spike, scoring a perfect 100 before falling back to a still-strong 65.
Searches for Bitcoin (BTC) also spiked, but remain well below 2017 bull run highs.
The Tie also shared the following chart with Cointelegraph, which shows a sharp rise in searches for “best cryptocurrency apps” and “best cryptocurrency exchanges.”

“Relative search interest in popular crypto terms in Google Trends is at an all-time high,” Treyce Dahlem, research analyst at The Tie, told Cointelegraph.
He continued:
“Whether it’s the recent price run-up, the speculative traders we’re seeing from Reddit looking to gain exposure to more assets, or even a macro shift in how investors are looking to hedge against inflation, one thing is clear: interest in crypto is growing rapidly, and new investors are looking for the best way to enter the ecosystem.”
This explosive search trend appears to coincide with the growing retail interest in Ethereum and altcoins. Since the beginning of the year, the price of Ethereum (ETH) has doubled and just reached a new all-time high of more than $1,500.
Meanwhile, the entire cryptocurrency market reached a $1 trillion market cap for the first time in January. While the initial surge was largely due to Bitcoin, altcoins have supported the $1 trillion market cap with greater force over the past month. In the process, Bitcoin’s dominance has fallen from a high of 72% in early January to 62%.
Google search trends sometimes correlate with movements in the overall cryptocurrency market. An increase in relative search volume indicates growing retail awareness of digital assets, which often foreshadows broader speculative adoption.
The Tie revealed to Cointelegraph that social media engagement around cryptocurrencies is also surging. On Twitter, the total number of tweets about cryptocurrencies reached 3.3 million in January, up from 1.3 million in September 2020. The total number of cryptocurrency tweets in January was 181% higher than the same period last year.

According to a new industry study, if this Google search trend continues, then the search interest value of cryptocurrency seems to be rising again. (Cointelegraph)