Internet searches of what appears to be the Bitcoin price marker "BTC" have reached unprecedented levels, according to Google Trends data.
Between August 29 and 31, BTC searches worldwide catapulted from a value of 2 to 64 (August 30) and up to the maximum level of search interest, denoted by a value of 100.
As of September 3, the value has fallen to 74, however, the sudden increase in BTC searches seems even more unusual given that "Bitcoin" searches have remained virtually the same level in one of search interest. Out of 8.
Internet search worldwide for "BTC" and "bitcoin," YTD. Source: Google Trends
Prospects
The data seems all the more anomalous as it compares with the historical Internet search data of "BTC" and "Bitcoin" of the last five years. As expected, both search terms reached their all-time highs during the Bitcoin bullish movement in the winter of 2017.
In addition, "Bitcoin" significantly exceeded the search popularity of the "BTC" marker at that time, by a factor of 5.
Internet search worldwide for "BTC" and "bitcoin", from September 2014 to the present. Source: Google Trends
A storm of interest
The recent increase in BTC interest has not gone unnoticed. The American business magazine Forbes published an article on September 5, claiming that:
"It seems that in Google searches for bitcoin and BTC, the name used by merchants for the bitcoin digital token, could be being manipulated, possibly to move the price of bitcoin."
The article continues to cite the investigation of the Kryptografen communication crypto medium, which states that the data indicates that Romania has shown the greatest increase in BTC searches worldwide and implies that manipulative intent could explain the unexpected trend:
"It is reasonable to assume that someone is behind these radical changes."
However, there may be a simpler (natural) explanation behind the sudden popularity of the markings. Tropical cyclone Dorian, which currently wreaks havoc in the Bahamas, became a hurricane on August 28, rapidly intensifying to a category 4 hurricane by August 31 and a category 5 gravity by September 1.
"BTC" is not only the Bitcoin cryptocurrency marker symbol, but also the name of a major telecommunications provider in the Bahamas, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).
While the storm continues to devastate the islands, local media have reported extensively on the loss of telecommunications networks, in particular from BTC, and about the difficulties that hurricane victims face without mobile services.
Therefore, media coverage of search terms data appears to be symptomatic of a willingness to reproduce the narrative of a seemingly widespread manipulation in cryptocurrency markets, a concern frequently cited by regulatory bodies as a reason to delay approval. of new investment instruments in the sector.
Keep reading:
Source link
https://es.cointelegraph.com/news/mystery-behind-sudden-spike-in-btc-searches-tied-to-hurricane-dorian
