Search interest in “alt season” has dropped sharply, with one economist even questioning whether a search spike last week was genuine.
Global search interest in altcoins plunged significantly this week as Bitcoin and altcoins continued to retrace over the past six days, according to new data.
Worldwide searches for the term “alt season” fell to a score of 45 on Tuesday, down from a peak of 100 just a week earlier on Aug. 13, a day before Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new high of $124,128 amid a broader crypto market rally.
Search interest for “alt season” is at 45, based on 90-day Google Trends data. Source: Google Trends
It was only a week ago that searches for “altcoin” hit their highest level since 2021, while interest in “Ethereum” reached a two-year peak.
Altcoin rally was short-lived
This coincided with Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP (XRP) rallying about 19% over the two weeks leading up to Aug. 13, before both shed most of those gains, each dropping about 11% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.
Economist Alex Krueger questioned the brief spike in searches, asking his X followers on Tuesday whether it was “organic or manufactured via bots.”
“Im wondering if that data is correct, as the spike is dramatic and brief,” Krueger said.
Crypto traders often track search trends for terms like “alt season” and “Bitcoin” to gauge retail investor interest and potential FOMO. These trends can sometimes signal when the market is approaching a local top.
Does the search interest even matter anymore？
Some analysts suggested other factors. Crypto analyst Cristian Chifoi said in a Tuesday X post that the term “altseason” was recently promoted by major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, which may have led to the recent surge in searches.
On Thursday, Coinbase Institutionals global head of research, David Duong, wrote in a monthly outlook report, “We think current market conditions now suggest a potential shift toward a full-scale altcoin season as we approach September.”
However, Chifoi said he is also not sure how relevant it is anymore as an indicator for the market.
“IMO it is not a good read on the state of the crypto cycle,” Chifoi said.
Other traders have echoed similar doubts, pointing out that with spot Bitcoin, Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and public companies holding crypto, investors now have alternative ways to gain exposure.