Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) – Bitcoin Popularity Index Worldwide

Introduction

Introducing the Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI), the first comprehensive search survey of its kind. This index was selected in an effort to measure the global reach and influence of Bitcoin through a comprehensive analysis of Google search queries.

Unlike most studies that provide complete data or that include various aspects of cryptocurrency, the BPI data aims to provide information on the interest of Bitcoin in particular, taking into account factors such as linguistic diversity, the dominance of the Google browser and the size of the community. This method allows us to know not only the raw interest but also the relative intensity of Bitcoin involvement in various countries. So we can highlight which countries punch above their weight, in comparison.

Although not intended as a definitive answer, the BPI serves as a useful tool—perhaps the best summary we have among the incomplete data. By combining these various factors, the Bitcoin Popularity Index provides a unique perspective, moving away from standard metrics to provide a richer, more contextual understanding of how Bitcoin adoption is progressing around the world.

You can download the infographic here.

Key Findings

• The USA scores the most with 14,432,650 inquiries per month, followed closely by Brazil with 12,400,260. Germany, India and Turkey complete the top 5.
• The top 7 and 8 out of the top 10 positions were taken by Western European countries (according to EuroVoc’s regional definitions).
• “Western” countries around the world have an average BPI of about 3,720 (compared to 1,250 elsewhere), which shows the high popularity of Bitcoin.
• Africa has the lowest BPI score among the continents. This is not surprising given that internet penetration in Africa is only 40 percent.
• The most prominent Bitcoin questions are price questions, and often there is the price of bitcoin against the dollar. In Egypt, however, bitcoin is often quoted in gold prices instead of the dollar or the Egyptian pound.
• The total number of monthly queries related to Bitcoin is around 77 million, with specific searches for “Bitcoin” approaching 10 million.
• The Bitcoin-to-Ethereum query ratio is 9:1.

Comparison of Continents

Oceania leads with the highest BPI score at around 4,901, which shows the strong popularity of Bitcoin in this region. This data is taken from just two countries (New Zealand and Australia), both of which benefit from high levels of internet penetration.

Europe follows with 3,719 BPI from 41 countries, showing the strength related to the popularity of Bitcoin throughout the continent, which puts it above many other regions.

Top 50 countries

Countries 1-15

Countries 16-32

Countries 33-50

Method of Data Collection

1. Data Selection: Since Google reserves all search query data for cryptocurrency-related terms, identifying the most reliable dataset was important. In an effort to be as comprehensive as possible, datasets from SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, DataOs, Moz and Google Trends were all downloaded and analyzed. SEMRUSH has proven to be very reliable based on its accuracy and depth, consistent with SparkToro’s research and SEMRUSH’s own research on search volume data.
2. Data Comparison and Selection: Although the results were often similar for the most part between SEMRUSH and Ahrefs, the two largest data sets are available. There has been a lot of disagreement between the two for many words. Data from other countries showed a difference of more than 80%. This variability made it difficult to aggregate data or fill gaps in countries where SEMRUSH did not provide data, as the differences were too great to be reliably aggregated.
3. Query Configuration: The extensive matching queries for “Bitcoin” and “BTC” are used in all alphabet groups including Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Japanese, Devanagari, Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic, Tamil, Sinhala, Chinese and Thai .
4. Demographic and search engine data entry: Demographics were compiled from Worldometers, and Google market share data was taken from Statcounter. For the purposes of this study, Google’s market share was recalculated to 100% for all countries to adjust for the impact of search engine usage on the data.
5. Calculation of Search Volume Per Capita: With the data mentioned above, the search query volume per capita for each country was calculated. This step was important in normalizing the data for different populations, allowing for the same comparison of interest in Bitcoin regardless of the size of the country.
6. Data Visualization: The final results were classified and plotted on a Chloropleth map using the Datawrapper visualization tool. This allowed for a clear visual representation of Bitcoin’s popularity in different countries, highlighting regions with high or low levels of engagement.

The percentage of the country’s population using the Internet was not included in the statistics, as those without access to the Internet are less likely to show interest in Bitcoin. The recently published internet penetration rate in Africa is 40%, compared to levels in Europe and the United States of America in 2005. Although this rate remains low, it is growing, as is the adoption of Bitcoin.

Data Scope and Limitations

The Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) provides comprehensive insight; However, it is hampered by the absence of data from 77 countries, including China, Iran, Cuba and 33 African countries – mainly Tanzania, Kenya and Sudan. This lack of data from key regions can lead to an incomplete global view of Bitcoin involvement.

In addition, the BPI is based on a third-party index, since Google does not share specific data for the search query of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. VPNs can also play their role by interfering with where searches come from, but this is not expected to have too much of an impact on results.

The information is incorrect in a few countries, as “BTC” is the name of a telephone company in the Bahamas, an internet service provider in Botswana and a shopping mall in Slovenia.

Summary

The Bitcoin Popularity Index (BPI) provides a detailed look at global interest in Bitcoin through the lens of Google search queries. Although this study uses the best available data, it is important to note that it is not intended to definitively answer which country has the most Bitcoin adoption potential. Instead, the BPI serves as a gauge of general interest and connection to Bitcoin in different countries.

The data shows that Oceania has the strongest BPI scores, although Europe shows the greatest strength, with 41 out of 43 countries doing well. It also appears that search data is stronger in countries with high internet penetration, thus creating a data bias in favor of such countries.

An important follow-up to this study will involve examining other metrics that can provide more insight into Bitcoin adoption. Some examples of those metrics include the number of Bitcoin nodes, Bitcoin Lightning Network nodes or hashrate distribution. Such data points can provide a comprehensive understanding of how deep Bitcoin is in various regions and can help paint a fuller picture of its global adoption.

In addition, the goal is to make the BPI an annual figure, providing a comparable measure of how Bitcoin interest and adoption progress in all the countries surveyed every year.

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