I recently noticed an interesting phenomenon in Bitcoin search trends. In February, the term "bitcoin zero" recorded an all-time high in Google searches in the United States, which indicates that retail investors' anxiety is quite high. This was during a time when Bitcoin had dropped more than 50% from its October peak and was heading toward $60,000.

What’s intriguing is that globally, searches for the same term peaked in August and have now decreased to 38. In other words, the fear seems to be concentrated in the U.S., while investors in Asia and Europe are not panicking as much. Since the same pattern was observed in 2021 and 2022, it could be a sign of a bottoming out, but there’s a more complex story behind it.

Google Trends measures on a relative scale (0–100), so the increase in searches doesn’t mean the absolute number of searches is rising; rather, it’s a relative surge within the context of the Bitcoin user base, which has expanded dramatically since 2021. Therefore, “searches hitting bottom = price also bottoming out” cannot be simply concluded.

Technically, mixed signals are emerging. Bitcoin temporarily broke through $76,000 but then retreated to $74,000, so a true breakout hasn’t continued. The funding rate on a major exchange has remained negative for 46 days, indicating a concentration of short positions. Historically, such prolonged risk-off phases have sometimes been early indicators of a sharp rally afterward.

However, globally, fear-related searches are decreasing, and factors unique to the U.S. (such as tariff issues and geopolitical risks) might be influencing this. In other words, whether the anxiety among retail investors in the U.S. signals a bottom remains to be seen, and more observation is needed.