Over the weekend, crypto users discovered that crypto price charts for Bitcoin and Ethereum have vanished from Google Search as the tech giant changed its approach to digital assets. Google users who searched for “Ethereum price” or “Bitcoin price” could no longer see the usually displayed crypto charts, which have been part of the search results since 2018.
While this deindexing measure affected all major cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin seems to have evaded it as its price chart is still displayed when searched by its ticker "DOGE." Although the changes have been observed for several days now, there hasn’t been any official statement released by Google regarding the matter.
However, Google Search results are still displaying stock and index graphs, which has led to speculations about Google’s intentions. While some crypto industry observers have labelled it as a “temporary glitch," others think this is indicative of a shift in the tech giant’s stance towards crypto assets.
People are questioning the timing of this move as it comes in the backdrop of dip in Bitcoin-related search queries. As per Google Trends, there is a decrease in Bitcoin search volume globally as it hits the lowest this week (October 13-19), showing only 27% of the search volume peak recorded in March.
However, it’s not just Bitcoin; Ethereum is also experiencing a downward trend in its search volume, which was only 19% of its March peak. All this suggests a possible cooling in public interest regarding cryptocurrencies, which has influenced Google’s decision not to display crypto price charts.
This isn’t the first time such crypto-related changes have occurred on Google. Earlier in March, the tech giant updated the service policy for its financial products, which allowed crypto trusts and exchange-traded products to be advertised in the US. But that was a pro-cryptocurrency positive move compared to this negative approach, which is puzzling analysts and traders.
With the disappearance of crypto price charts from Google, investors have lost a potential tool to check cryptocurrency prices on the go. The move helped non-serious crypto traders get a hang of the market and make investment decisions without visiting crypto platforms. Ultimately, this will have significant market implications as cryptocurrency visibility decreases amongst general internet users.
As digital assets find acceptance everywhere, the tech policy of online platforms like Google has to change to facilitate the crypto industry as they have an impact on cryptocurrency information and public perception.
However, it should be noted that crypto price charts are still available on other Google forums like Google Finance and other crypto-specific apps and websites. While Ethereum search interest is high in Saint Helena, Switzerland, and Slovenia, Bitcoin-related queries mostly appear in El Salvador and Nigeria.