Bitcoin was the #1 “what is…” query on Google in 2018

tl;dr: The # 1 “what is…” query on Google in the US in 2018 was: “what is Bitcoin?” That’s notable.

I think it is important to look for really small data points and see if they fit into a pattern. Or, at least notice them.

I was reading a CB Insights newsletter recently and saw this little nugget.

Top 5: Google released its 2018 Year in Search this week.

The top 5 most searched terms globally were: World Cup, Avicii, Mac Miller, Stan Lee, and Black Panther. In the US, the most searched-for songs were “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “This Is America,” and “Baby Shark,”

and the #1 “What is…?” query was “What is Bitcoin?”

If you’re still asking this question, you can check out our explainer, What Is Blockchain Technology?

I guess the thing I find interesting is that, even with everything that is happening in the market, there’s obviously a growing interest in it among mainstream users.

If they aren’t curious, why are they searching for it?

To be fair, the vast majority of the searches happened at the beginning of 2018 and dropped precipitously since then. Still, I would say that mainstream awareness has been achieved.