Bitcoin trades above $110,000 today, while Google Trends data for “bitcoin” sits at 38.
This afternoon, a Midtown Manhattan barista will glance at a phone ticker showing $110,630. He’ll shrug and keep steaming milk.
Perhaps we’re now entering “FIAMO,” short for fear I already missed out.
The exchange saw explosive growth in 2021 as retail activity ballooned more than 7-fold versus 2020, mirroring the overall crypto bull run. Then, crypto winter hit retail hardest, volumes fell 69% in 2022 and another 55% in 2023.
In 2024, a rebound in prices, approval of U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETFs, and improved market sentiment drove retail volume up 195 % year-on-year. Now, Q1 2025 retail spot volume is down from the exceptional Q4 2024 but still above any quarter in 2023, helped by Bitcoin’s new all-time highs early in the year.
People can’t or won’t buy a whole coin, and many still feel that fractions look like scraps.
Also, memories of the 2022 wipe-out still sting, with many awaiting redemptions or having lost considerable sums. FTX, Celsius, and Three Arrows vanished in weeks, erasing life savings and confidence. Many small traders promised themselves they would never chase parabolic charts again. That promise now shows up in every flat search curve.
Politics now also adds another layer to the Bitcoin and crypto Zeitgeist. President Donald Trump believes that “Our country must be the leader in the field” and is a staunch Bitcoin proponent, aiming to roll out a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The shift in Trump’s attitude to Bitcoin turns Bitcoin from a rebel asset to a state resource, a shift that can’t help but dull the thrill for some weekend traders, especially those outside the US with a ‘less than favorable’ view of the man.
Aligning Bitcoin so closely with right-of-center politics is likely to negatively affect those on the other side of the political spectrum. However, I believe the blame for politicizing Bitcoin is bipartisan. Politicians who revile Trump’s broader policies should compartmentalize Bitcoin from those issues.
Bitcoin has no party and no politics within the traditional financial system.
Until we are free from fiat, it is Bitcoin or nothing.
As Satoshi said,
“Maybe instead make it about the open source project and give more credit to your dev contributors; it helps motivate them.”
For now, the signals are plain: ETFs soak up supply, policy wraps bitcoin in reserve language, and Google’s trend line hardly moves.
The largest digital asset continues to smash all conceivable records while most onlookers barely look up.
