Introduction
Introducing the Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI), the first comprehensive search study of its kind. The index has been created in an effort to measure Bitcoin’s global reach and influence through a comprehensive analysis of Google search queries.
Unlike many studies that provide complete data or mix different aspects of the cryptocurrency, the BPI data aims to provide insight specifically into Bitcoin interest by considering factors such as language diversity, Google’s browser dominance, and population size. . This approach allows us to assess not only the basic interest but also the relative intensity of Bitcoin engagement in different countries. So we can shed light on which countries are punching above their weight in comparison.
Although it is not intended as a definitive answer, the BPI serves as a useful exercise – perhaps the best snapshot we have amid incomplete data. By integrating these different elements, the Bitcoin Popularity Index provides a unique perspective, moving away from the usual metrics to provide a richer, more relevant understanding of how Bitcoin is being adopted around the world.
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key findings
- The United States receives the most queries per month with 14,432,650 queries, followed by Brazil with 12,400,260 queries. Germany, India and Türkiye are in the top 5.
- The top 7 positions and 8 of the top 10 are occupied by Western European countries (as Regional definitions of Eurovoc,
- The average BPI of “Western” countries around the world is around 3,720 (compared to 1,250 elsewhere), reflecting the relatively high popularity of Bitcoin.
- Africa has the lowest BPI score among continents. This is not surprising as Internet penetration in Africa is only 40%.
- The most prominent Bitcoin questions are price questions, and often involve the price of Bitcoin against the dollar. However, in Egypt, Bitcoin is priced more in gold bars rather than dollars or Egyptian pounds.
- The total number of monthly Bitcoin-related queries is approximately 77 million, with direct searches for “Bitcoin” close to 10 million.
- The ratio of Bitcoin-to-Ethereum queries is 9:1.
comparison of continents
Oceania leads the way with the highest average BPI at around 4,901, indicating very strong popularity of Bitcoin in the region. The data is taken from only two countries (New Zealand and Australia), both of which benefit from high levels of Internet access.
Europe ranked second with an average BPI of 3,719 from 41 countries, reflecting the relative strength of Bitcoin’s popularity across the continent, placing it well above most other regions.
top 50 countries
Country 1-15
Country 16-32
Country 33-50
Method of data collection
- Data selection: Given that Google blocks all search query data for cryptocurrency-related terms, it was important to identify the most reliable dataset. In an effort to be as comprehensive as possible, all datasets were downloaded and researched from SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, DataOs, Moz, and Google Trends. SEMRUSH proved to be the most reliable based on its accuracy and depth, which is consistent SparkToro study as well as SEMRUSH’S OWN RESEARCH Search volume data.
- Data comparison and selection: Although the results between SEMRUSH and Ahrefs, the two largest datasets available, were often similar for the most part. There were significant discrepancies in many terms between the two. Data from some countries showed differences of more than 80%. This variability made it impractical to combine data or fill gaps for countries where SEMRUSH did not provide any data, as the gaps were too large to reliably aggregate.
- Query configuration: A broad match query was used for “Bitcoin” and “BTC” across alphabetic groups including Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Japanese, Devanagari, Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic, Tamil, Sinhalese, Chinese, and Thai.
- Incorporation of demographic and search engine data: population statistics integrated globe gaugeAnd Google’s market share data was obtained from StatCounterFor the purposes of this study, Google market share was recalculated to 100% for all countries to standardize the impact of search engine use on the data.
- Calculating Search Volume Per Capita: With the above data, search query volume per capita was calculated for each country. This step was important to normalize the data across different populations, allowing interest in Bitcoin to be compared regardless of country size.
- Data visualization: The final results were classified and plotted on a chloropleth map using the visualization tool datawrapperThis allowed a clear visual representation of Bitcoin’s popularity in different countries, highlighting areas with particularly high or low levels of engagement.
The percentage of a country’s population using the Internet was not included in the calculations, as people without Internet access are less likely to show interest in Bitcoin. Africa’s most recently published Internet adoption rate is 40%, which is comparable to the rates of Europe and the United States in 2005. Although this rate remains low, it is increasing, as is the adoption of Bitcoin.
Data scope and limitations
The Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) provides comprehensive insights; However, it is hampered by the absence of data for 77 countries, including China, Iran, Cuba and 33 African countries – notably Tanzania, Kenya and Sudan. The lack of data from key regions may result in an incomplete global perspective on Bitcoin engagement.
Additionally, the BPI is based on third-party estimates, as Google does not share specific search query data for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. VPNs can also play a role by revealing where the search originates, but this is not expected to have much of an impact on the results.
The data is inaccurate in some countries, as “BTC” is the name of a phone company in the Bahamas, an Internet provider in Botswana, and a shopping mall in Slovenia.
Summary
The Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) provides a detailed look at global interest in Bitcoin through Google search queries. Although this study employs the best available data, it is important to note that it is not intended to definitively answer which country has the most adoption of Bitcoin. Rather, the BPI serves as a measure of general interest and engagement with Bitcoin in different countries.
The data shows Oceania has the strongest BPI scores, although Europe shows the greatest strength across the board, with 41 out of 43 countries performing strongly. It is also clear that search data is stronger in countries with higher Internet penetration, thus creating a data bias in favor of such countries.
Valuable follow-up to this study would include examining other metrics that may provide further insight into Bitcoin adoption. Some examples of those metrics include the number of Bitcoin nodes, Bitcoin Lightning Network nodes, or hashrate distribution. Such data points can provide a more comprehensive understanding of how deeply Bitcoin has penetrated into different sectors and help paint a more complete picture of its global adoption.
Additionally, the goal is to make the BPI an annual calculation that provides a comparative estimate of the progress of Bitcoin interest and adoption across all surveyed countries on an annual basis.
