Google searches for “Bitcoin Zero” in the US reached a record 100 on the interest scale relative to the company in February, which coincides with Bitcoin. Slipped towards $60,000 after falling more than 50% from October’s all-time high.
The spike can be read as a signal of widespread capitulation and, potentially, as a contrarian buy signal. Similar peaks in Bitcoin’s price occurred near local lows in 2021 and 2022.
However, global data tells a different story. Worldwide, the same period peaked at 100 in August, falling to 38 this month. Rather than setting record highs, global fear searches have been declining for months.
Divergence shows that any jitter is more localized than universal. He fits the background. US-specific catalysts – such as tariff increases, tensions with Iran and the broader risk-off rotation into domestic equities – have dominated the macro narrative in recent weeks.
Retail investors in the US may be reacting to those headlines more intensely than holders in Asia or Europe, where Bitcoin’s decline is coming in a different news cycle.
There is also a methodological glitch that is worth pointing out. 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 peak within a selected time window.
A score of 100 in February 2026, when Bitcoin’s US retail audience is meaningfully larger than during the 2022 bear market, does not mean more people are exploring in absolute terms. This means that the term is elevated relative to the higher baseline.
Bitcoin’s user base and mainstream visibility have grown dramatically since 2021. This means that retail fears in the US are clearly elevated, but may not hold as much weight in a “search has bottomed out” framework when global trends are cooling. This may still be paradoxical fuel, not exactly the kind that guarantees clean trend change.