US Google searches for “bitcoin zero” hit a record 100 on the company’s relative interest scale in February, coinciding with bitcoins slide toward $60,000 after a 50%-plus move from its October record.
The spike could be read as a signal of widespread capitulation and potentially a contrarian buy signal. Similar peaks in 2021 and 2022 occurred near local lows in the bitcoin price.
However, the global data tell a different story. Globally, the same period peaked at 100 back in August and fell to as low as 38 this month. Instead of setting record highs, global fear searches have been declining for months.
The discrepancy suggests that any panic is more localized than universal. It matches the background. US-specific catalysts – such as tariff escalation, tensions with Iran and broader risk-off rotation in domestic equities – have dominated the macro narrative in recent weeks.
Retail investors in the US may react more acutely to these headlines than holders in Asia or Europe, where bitcoin’s pullout lands in a different news cycle.
There is also a methodological wrinkle worth highlighting. Google Trends does not report raw search volume, but scores interest on a relative 0-to-100 scale, where 100 simply marks a term’s own peak within the selected time window.
A score of 100 in February 2026, when bitcoin’s US retail audience is significantly larger than it was during the 2022 bear market, does not necessarily mean more people are searching in absolute terms. This means the term spiked relative to a higher baseline.
Bitcoin’s user base and mainstream visibility itself has grown dramatically since 2021. The takeaway is that retail fears are clearly elevated in the US, but the “searches are bottoming out” frame may not carry the same weight once the global trend cools. It can still be contrarian fuel, just not the kind that guarantees a clean trend reversal.
