Interest in the impending increased use of bitcoin (BTC) in financial markets through a potential spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) has filtered through to retail investors, as indicated by Google Trends data.
According to worldwide Google search data, the phrase “spot bitcoin ETF” is projected to reach its peak value of 100 this week, reflecting maximum interest among the general population. The search value for “bitcoin ETF” has also increased to 39, its highest since the launch of ProShares’ futures-based ETF two years ago, a period during which it also reached 100.
In simpler terms, an increasing number of individuals are searching for information about bitcoin spot ETFs and their potential impact on the already largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Market participants are confident that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, having missed a recent deadline to challenge a significant legal loss, will approve a spot ETF in early 2023, leading to increased liquidity.
“The approval of a spot BTC ETF has been an enduring theme in the crypto space and is often seen as a measure of BTC’s mainstreaming,” stated Toronto-based crypto platform FRNT Financial in a Thursday email, regarding the surge in Google search values for ETF.
Google Trends offers relatively unfiltered samples of Google search requests and assigns them a value between 0 and 100. This value represents the search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the chosen region and time. Historically, a value of 100 has coincided with the peaks of bull markets in BTC and solana (SOL).
A spot ETF tracks the price of bitcoin instead of bitcoin futures, with the provider being responsible for the purchase and ownership of the cryptocurrency. This type of ETF is suitable for those who wish to gain exposure to bitcoin without directly owning the cryptocurrency.
The market became increasingly optimistic about spot ETFs three months ago after notable players in traditional financial markets, including BlackRock, applied for one. This development has shielded bitcoin from adverse macroeconomic factors, resulting in its outperformance compared to ether (ETH).
Crypto services provider Matrixport predicts that if the BlackRock ETF is approved, the price of bitcoin could soar to between $42,000 and $56,000. Currently, bitcoin is trading at around $29,400.
