Search interest for the cryptocurrency space’s number one altcoin, Ethereum, has dropped to a near three-year low as Google searches for ETH are below their early 2017 levels.
According to data from Google Trends, search interest for the keyword “Ethereum” is now at 6 out of 100, as it has maintained a steady decline from the 100 registered in December of 2017, shortly before ether hit a new all-time high of about $1,400.
Source: Google Trends
The data shows that in July of this year the cryptocurrency had a spike in search interest to 30 out of 100, but it kept on declining since. The search interest rise in July coincided with the launch of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) on over-the-counter (OTC) markets, allowing retail investors to buy ETHE Shares and gain exposure to the cryptocurrency ecosystem through it.
At the time, a mysterious whale bought around 20,000 ether tokens, worth $4.3 million, on leading crypto exchange Binance. At the end of June, Ethereum’s daily transactions managed to surpass one million, reaching a 13-month high as interest was peaking. Now, total daily transactions on the ETH blockchain average 600,000-700,000.
Google’s data shows the regions that maintain a large interest in Ethereum include China, Gibraltar, and Kosovo. Search interest has been relevant in the cryptocurrency space as it’s widely believed it may help indicate future price performance.
A study conducted by search engine marketing firm SEMRush found, back in 2017, that bitcoin’s price had a 91% correlation with crypto search interest on Google at the time. It’s worth noting the study may not apply now, or to other cryptocurrencies.
While bitcoin’s price has grown exponentially since the December 2018 low of $3,200, ether’s price performance has been lacking in comparison. The number one altcoin saw its price drop to a $90 low late last year, and manage to recover to a $300 high in July – when search interest for it peaked this year – but has since been dropping.
ETH is currently trading at $145.3, as it’s price has still risen little over 60% so far this year.
Google searches for the privacy-centric Brave browser, which rewards users for viewing ads in its Basic Attention Token (BAT) surged last month after the release of its 1.0 version. Brave notably rewards users in BAT, an ERC-20 token transacted on the Ethereum blockchain.
Featured image via Pexels.
