Key Findings
- Cryptocurrency interest in the UK is at its lowest level this year, down 82% from last year
- Meanwhile, 30% of Britons have bought crypto or know someone who has
- That number continues to rise steadily — it is the highest since tracking began in 2019
- The correlation between Bitcoin price and UK crypto interest in Google searches is very high at 0.72 (1 indicates a perfect correlation, 0 indicates none)
- Data suggest interest will remain subdued until Bitcoin price recovers, but mainstream adoption is nonetheless increasing
Bear markets crush prices — we all know that. But have the steep losses also suffocated public interest in crypto? We examined UK crypto interest to identify any clear patterns.
Crypto interest at its lowest point this year
As crypto tumbled over the past year — from an all-time high near $69,000 to just under $20,000 — public interest declined alongside prices. Google search trends show that interest in the UK has continued to drop, reaching its lowest level since 2020.
Search volume has fallen 82% from its peak in November of last year. The trend is a steady decline punctuated by occasional spikes, and recent data suggest the downward trend may continue.
UK crypto ownership is rising
On a more positive note, the share of Britons who either own crypto or know someone who does has reached a record 30%.
This reflects a longer-term adoption trend and growing general awareness. The severe market crash produced widespread headlines, making more people aware of friends and family who invested in crypto — and often suffered heavy losses — which likely contributed to this increased recognition.
UK interest in crypto closely tracks the Bitcoin price
That raises the obvious question: how closely does Bitcoin’s price track general interest in crypto? The answer is — very closely. Mathematically, the correlation between the two over the past year is 0.72, which is notable given that 1 represents a perfect correlation.
Below we plotted Bitcoin’s price against Google search volume to visually demonstrate this strong relationship.
Final thoughts
In short, the charts explain — perhaps obviously — why public interest in crypto has plunged this year. Bitcoin is down about 72% from last November, and Google search interest in crypto has fallen about 82%. It’s not a coincidence: markets that decline sharply remove the easy speculative gains that drive casual interest.
Yet the simultaneous rise in ownership and general awareness indicates that, despite painful price action and waning short-term interest, crypto is still making incremental progress toward mainstream recognition.