Search query ‘Should I sell my Bitcoin’ skyrockets on Google Trends 🚨 This article is 4 years old...
Search query ‘Should I sell my Bitcoin’ skyrockets on Google Trends
Users' interest in cryptocurrencies has surged to a new all-time amid this week's panic sell-offs.
2 min read
Updated: May. 23, 2021 at 1:28 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Cryptocurrency-related search queries have surged in popularity to a new all-time over the past week—but not for positive reasons, according to Google.
“#cryptocurrency is at an all-time high for search interest, Worldwide,” Google Trends’ Twitter account reported on Thursday.
"What happened to cryptocurrency today” is up +850%, past day, Worldwide
"Should I sell my crypto” is up +400%, past day, US pic.twitter.com/97hThGzDd2
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2021
As CryptoSlate reported, the crypto market swiftly plunged deep into the red zone on May 19 as prices of most digital assets dropped by anywhere between 20% and 50% on average. The massive dip was largely attributed to several announcements coming from China, including a potential ban on institutions that deal in cryptocurrencies and a crackdown on Bitcoin mining.
According to Google Trends, an analytic tool that allows users to measure the frequency of various search queries, topics such as “What happened to cryptocurrency today” and “Should I sell my Bitcoin” (or “crypto” and “Bitcoin” in general) are currently showing a worldwide score of 100 on the “interest over time” chart—the highest value possible.
Fear and energy concerns
Interestingly, Bitcoin’s environmental impact—which has become a hot topic lately—is also extremely popular among Google users.
“Most energy-efficient cryptocurrency’ and ‘environmentally friendly cryptocurrency’ are breakout searches. ‘How does bitcoin use energy’ +1,050%, past week US,” Google Trends’ team noted.
Other queries such as “Bitcoin carbon footprint” (87 points), “crypto electricity” (100), or “mining power” (95) are also frequently searched for.
Today's Cryptocurrency Fear And Greed Index: 12
Ranking: Extreme Fear#Crypto #Bitcoin #Ethereum
— Crypto Fear And Greed Bot (@FearAndGreedBot) May 22, 2021
Meanwhile, the “Crypto Fear and Greed Index,” a metric that reflects currently dominating sentiments among crypto enthusiasts, has plunged into “extreme fear,” hovering around 12 points out of 100 today.
The index takes into account various aspects such as volatility, the market’s momentum and trading volumes, social media sentiments, trends, and so on. The metric scales from 0 (maximum “Fear”) to 100 (ultimate “Greed”).
Notably, today’s “crypto fear” is roughly on the same level as it was in March 2020—when Bitcoin collapsed to around $5,000 amid the global coronavirus outbreak.
Author 
Liam Frost
Liam Frost is a freelance journalist and editor with over 15 years of experience working for various media outlets across the world.
