Google searches for ‘Bitcoin going to zero’ have surged to levels not seen since the aftermath of the FTX crisis in November 2022, based on data from Google Trends over the past five years.
This surge aligns with Bitcoin’s recent decline from its all-time high of nearly $126,000 on October 6, 2025, to approximately $66,500 at the time of this report. This represents a nearly 50% drop from its peak.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has plunged into extreme fear, reaching a level of 9, reminiscent of the severe sentiment seen during both the Terra ecosystem collapse and the FTX fallout in 2022.
Worldwide searches for ‘Bitcoin going to zero’ peaked around the same time in early November 2022, just as FTX halted withdrawals and Bitcoin’s value plummeted to roughly $15,000.
Today’s Fears Differ from 2022
The crypto intelligence platform Perception conducted an analysis of narrative trends across over 650 crypto media outlets and shared the insights with Cointelegraph. Founder Fernando Nikolic states that the fear experienced in 2022 was primarily influenced by internal issues such as the failures of centralized lenders, while the current fear is exacerbated by broader macroeconomic concerns and has been amplified by prominent bearish voices in the market.
Mike McGlone from Bloomberg has been noted as a major proponent of the phrase, warning that Bitcoin could potentially drop to around $10,000, claiming that markets are heading towards a downturn similar to what was seen in 2008.
Nikolic mentions that media sentiment suffered a low point in early February but has recently shown signs of recovery. However, searches for ‘Bitcoin going to zero’ are surging now in February.
Additionally, the current spike in searches occurs against a backdrop of notable macroeconomic anxiety, illustrated by the World Uncertainty Index reaching unprecedented heights, even surpassing the peaks during the financial crisis in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Please note that while interest in ‘Bitcoin going to zero’ is rising, institutional buyers are still accumulating Bitcoin. Reports indicate that sovereign wealth funds, such as those in Abu Dhabi, are increasing their investments in Bitcoin ETFs.
