Online traffic to Bitcoin’s Wikipedia page experienced a significant increase last week, indicating a growing public interest in the cryptocurrency. This surge in traffic coincided with Bitcoin’s price reaching a new yearly high. According to data from The Block, the page received nearly 13,500 visits on October 24. This was the highest daily count since June 2022 when Bitcoin’s price dropped below $20,000.
“Bitcoin’s recent rally and the potential for a spot ETF has people more interested in the asset,” said Rebecca Stevens from The Block Research. “The newfound interest can be shown in more casual ways, like more people visiting Bitcoin’s Wikipedia page.”
Bitcoin’s Wikipedia page is among the top search results on Google when looking up information on Bitcoin. Historically, visits to the page have spiked during significant price fluctuations. In addition to last week’s surge, the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022 resulted in a high influx of visitors to the page over the past year. After Bitcoin’s price dropped below $17,000 on November 14, the page received 11,000 visits. Another notable increase in traffic occurred on May 13, 2021, when Bitcoin’s price plummeted by approximately 50% following Elon Musk’s announcement that Tesla would no longer accept BTC as payment for cars. During this time, the page attracted over 63,000 clicks. The highest single-day visitor count ever recorded was on December 8, 2017, with a staggering 344,000 visitors when Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $20,000.
Bitcoin’s Rally and the Potential for a Spot ETF
The rally in Bitcoin’s price during October can be attributed, in part, to optimistic news surrounding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. A false rumor suggesting that the approval had already occurred caused the price to surge to $30,000 on October 16. Subsequently, further news about BlackRock’s spot ETF listing on the DTCC website and a court order for regulators to review Grayscale’s ETF application pushed the price even higher, reaching $35,000 last week.
However, there is an underlying narrative behind Bitcoin’s rally. Macro analysts, including BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, propose that investors are turning to Bitcoin and gold as safe-haven assets instead of US government bonds. This shift in investment preference stems from a loss of confidence in the US’s ability to manage its debt burden. Hayes specifically highlights that there was a selloff of long-dated bonds following a speech from President Biden, which indicated over $100 billion in overseas war financing.
“Bitcoin – along with gold – is rallying against a backdrop of an aggressive selloff in long-end US Treasuries,” wrote Hayes on his blog last week. “This isn’t speculation as to an ETF being approved – this is Bitcoin discounting a future, very inflationary global world war situation.”
