According to new data, in the past six days, Bitcoin and altcoin prices have retreated, and the global search interest in 'altcoin season' has significantly declined.
On August 19, global search interest in 'altcoin season' dropped to 45, while a week earlier on August 13, the indicator had reached 100. At that time, Bitcoin's price had peaked at $124,128, driving the overall crypto market.
Just a week ago, the search volume for 'altcoin' reached its highest level since 2021.
The altcoin rebound was brief.
This trend is consistent with the performance of Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP, which rose 19% in the two weeks leading up to August 13. However, both tokens have recently declined by about 11% in the past week, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Economist Alex Krueger questioned the brief surge in search interest, asking his followers on the X platform on Tuesday whether it was caused by bots.
Krueger stated, 'I doubt the accuracy of this data, as this spike is both dramatic and fleeting.'
Many crypto traders track search trends for terms like 'altcoin season' and 'Bitcoin' to gauge retail investor interest and the potential for FOMO (fear of missing out). These trends sometimes signal that the market is approaching local highs.
Does search interest still matter?
Some analysts pointed to other factors. Crypto analyst Cristian Chifoi noted that major crypto exchanges like Coinbase recently promoted 'altcoin season,' which may have led to the surge in searches.
On August 14, David Duong, head of global research at Coinbase Institution, wrote in a monthly outlook report: 'We believe the current market conditions now suggest that as we approach September, there could be a shift to a full altcoin season.'
However, Chifoi stated that he is still unsure about its relevance as a market indicator.
'IMO, this is not a good way to assess the state of the crypto cycle,' Chifoi said.
Other traders also expressed similar skepticism, noting that with Bitcoin, Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and public companies holding crypto assets, investors now have more avenues for investment.
