US Google searches for “bitcoin zero” rose to a record 100 on the company’s relative interest scale in February, matching that of bitcoin. slide towards $60,000 after a more than 50% drop from its October all-time high.
The rise could be read as a sign of widespread capitulation and potentially a contrarian buy signal. Similar spikes occurred in 2021 and 2022 near local lows in the price of bitcoin.
Global data, however, tells a different story. Globally, the same term peaked at 100 in August and fell to 38 this month. Instead of reaching record levels, global fear searches have been declining for months.
The divergence suggests that any panic is more localized than universal. That fits the backdrop. US-specific catalysts – such as escalating tariffs, tensions with Iran and a broader rotation of risk aversion into domestic stocks – have dominated the macro narrative in recent weeks.
Retail investors in the US may be reacting to those headlines more sharply than holders in Asia or Europe, where the bitcoin crash is landing in a different news cycle.
There is also a methodological problem worth noting. Google Trends does not report raw search volume, but rates interest on a relative scale of 0 to 100, where 100 simply marks the peak of a term within the selected time window.
A score of 100 in February 2026, when the US retail audience for bitcoin is significantly larger than during the 2022 bear market, does not necessarily mean more people are searching in absolute terms. It means that the term increased relative to a higher baseline.
Bitcoin’s user base and overall visibility have grown dramatically since 2021. The bottom line is that retail fear is clearly high in the US, but the “searches have bottomed out” framework may not carry the same weight when the global trend is cooling. It may still be contrarian fuel, but not the kind that guarantees a clear trend reversal.
