Introduction
Introducing the bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI), the first comprehensive search study of its kind. This index has been selected in an attempt to measure the reach and global impact of bitcoin through an extensive analysis of Google search queries.
Unlike many studies that offer absolute data or combine various aspects of cryptocurrencies, the BIS data aims to offer insight into bitcoin interest specifically, considering factors such as language diversity, Google browser dominance, and population size. This approach allows us to measure not only the raw interest but also the relative intensity of bitcoin participation in different nations. Therefore, we can highlight which countries are punching above their weight, in relative terms.
While not intended to be a definitive answer, the BIS serves as a useful exercise, perhaps the best snapshot we have amid imperfect data. By integrating these various elements, the bitcoin Popularity Index offers a unique perspective, moving away from generic metrics to provide a richer and more contextual understanding of how bitcoin adoption is progressing around the world.
<img src="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200/MjA3MDMzMDY0ODY0MzU5OTA3/bpi—bitcoin-popularity-index-map.png”>
You can download the infographic here.
Key findings
- The United States obtains the highest number of consultations with 14,432,650 consultations per month, closely followed by Brazil with 12,400,260. Germany, India and Türkiye complete the top 5.
- The top 7 positions and 8 of the top 10 positions are occupied by Western European countries (according to EuroVoc regional definitions).
- “Western” countries around the world have an average BPI of about 3,720 (compared to 1,250 elsewhere), indicating relatively high popularity of bitcoin.
- Africa has the lowest BPI scores among the continents. This is not surprising given that Internet penetration in Africa is only 40%.
- The most prominent bitcoin queries are price queries and, in most cases, the price of bitcoin against the dollar. In Egypt, however, bitcoin is more often priced in gold bars than in dollars or Egyptian pounds.
- The total number of monthly queries related to bitcoin is almost 77 million, and direct searches for “bitcoin” are approaching 10 million.
- The bitcoin to ethereum query ratio is 9:1.
A comparison of continents
Oceania leads with the highest average BPI, around 4,901, indicating high popularity of bitcoin in this region. This data is derived from just two countries (New Zealand and Australia), both benefiting from high levels of Internet penetration.
Europe follows with an average BPI of 3,719 across 41 countries, showing the relative strength of bitcoin's popularity across the continent, placing it well above most other regions.
Top 50 countries
Countries 1-15
Countries 16-32
Countries 33-50
Data collection methodology
- Data selection: Since Google retains all search query data for cryptocurrency-related terms, it was important to identify the most reliable data set. In an effort to be as comprehensive as possible, datasets from SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, DataOs, Moz, and Google Trends were downloaded and investigated. SEMRUSH proved to be the most reliable based on its accuracy and depth, which is consistent with The SparkToro studio as well as SEMRUSH's own research in search volume data.
- Data comparison and selection: Although the results were mostly similar between SEMRUSH and Ahrefs, the two largest data sets available. There were significant disagreements between the two for many terms. Data from some countries showed a difference of more than 80%. This variability made it impractical to combine the data or fill in the gaps for countries where SEMRUSH did not provide data, as the differences were too substantial to reliably aggregate.
- Query Settings: Broad match queries were used for “bitcoin” and “btc” in alphabetical groups including Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Japanese, Devanagari, Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic, Tamil, Sinhala, Chinese, and Thai.
- Incorporation of demographic and search engine data: population figures were integrated from Worldometersand Google market share data was obtained from statistics counter. For the purposes of this study, Google's market share was recalculated to 100% for all countries to standardize the impact of search engine usage on the data.
- Calculation of Search Volume Per Capita: Using the aforementioned data, a volume of search queries per capita was calculated for each country. This step was crucial to normalize the data across different populations, allowing for a similar comparison of bitcoin interest regardless of country size.
- Data visualization: The final results were categorized and plotted on a chloropleth map using the visualization tool. data wrapper. This allowed for a clear visual representation of bitcoin's popularity in different countries, highlighting regions with particularly high or low levels of participation.
The percentage of a country's population using the Internet was not taken into account in the calculations, as those without Internet access are less likely to show interest in bitcoin. The most recently published Internet adoption rate in Africa is 40%, comparable to rates in Europe and the United States of America in 2005. Although this rate is still low, it is increasing, as is bitcoin adoption.
Data Scope and Limitations
The bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) offers comprehensive information; however, it is limited by the absence of data from 77 countries, including China, Iran, Cuba, and 33 African nations, particularly Tanzania, Kenya, and Sudan. This lack of data from key regions may result in an incomplete global perspective on bitcoin participation.
Additionally, the BPI is based on third-party estimates, as Google does not share search query data specific to bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. VPNs can also play their part in hiding the origin of searches, but this is not expected to have affected the results too much.
The data is erroneous in a small number of countries, as “btc” is the name of a telephone company in the Bahamas, an Internet provider in Botswana and a shopping center in Slovenia.
Summary
The bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) provides a detailed look at global interest in bitcoin through the lens of Google search queries. While this study uses the best data available, it is important to note that it is not intended to definitively answer which country has the highest bitcoin adoption. Rather, the BIS serves as an indicator of the general interest and engagement in bitcoin in different countries.
The data reveals that Oceania has the highest BPI scores, although Europe shows the greatest strength across the board, with 41 of 43 countries performing strongly. It is also evident that search data is stronger in countries with higher Internet penetration, creating a bias in the data that favors those countries.
A valuable follow-up to this study would involve examining other metrics that could provide more information about bitcoin adoption. Some examples of those metrics include the number of bitcoin nodes, bitcoin Lightning Network nodes, or hashrate distribution. This data could offer a more complete understanding of how deeply bitcoin has penetrated different regions and could help paint a more complete picture of its global adoption.
Additionally, the goal is to make the BPI an annual calculation, providing a comparative approximation of how bitcoin interest and adoption is progressing across all countries surveyed annually.
