I just noticed that Google search queries for "bitcoin zero" in the US surged to a new record in February.

That's interesting because Bitcoin had fallen over 50% from its October high and was around $60,000 at that time.
Normally, you'd think such a spike in searches signals capitulation and thus a contrarian buy signal.

But here’s where it gets strange: the picture looks very different worldwide.
In August, the same search query reached its global peak, but has since declined again.
So, the panic seems to be more locally confined—mainly in the US.
That makes sense when you look at the news.
Tax increases, tensions with Iran, broader risk aversion in stocks—these are US-specific factors that are more influential here than in Asia or Europe, where Hong Kong and other financial centers have a different news cycle.

A technical detail that’s important: Google Trends doesn’t measure absolute search volume, only relative interest on a scale from 0 to 100.
A value of 100 today doesn’t automatically mean more people are searching in absolute numbers—it just indicates that the term has reached a peak relative to a higher baseline.
The Bitcoin user base has grown significantly since 2021, and mainstream visibility has increased as well.
Therefore, you can’t simply compare 2022 to today.

My conclusion: Retail fear in the US is definitely heightened, but as a reliable indicator of a bottom, it might not work so well if the global trend is cooling off at the same time.
It could still serve as a contrarian indicator, but not in a way that guarantees a clear trend reversal.
Bitcoin stayed above $74,000 while global risk appetite returned and major stock indices recovered their losses.