Google keyword research data shows that interest in non-fungible tokens (NFT) has risen to record levels, and traffic is popping up on keywords related to many of the top 10 cryptocurrencies.
According to Google Trends, interest in NFTs soared at the beginning of the year, when Dapper Labs NBA Top Shot and legacy Ethereum-based NFTs became the subject of wild speculation.
While the bubble seemed short-lived at first, search volume was down about 75% at the end of June, but interest started to return in July and reached new highs in late October.
Order volume for ‘NFT’ (blue) and ‘non-replaceable token’ (red) for 24 months: Google Trends
Since then, Google search traffic for NFT-related keywords has continued to grow, doubling in the past three months.
The surge in interest has led the NFT to capture several keywords that have long dominated the search traffic related to cryptocurrencies, including DeFi, Ethereum, and even blockchain.
Search volume for NFT (blue), Ethereum (red), blockchain (yellow), Dogecoin (green), and DeFi (purple) in 24 months: Google Trends
While Dogecoin captured the imagination of the masses in the second quarter — as demand for Dogecoin surged to rival Bitcoin in early May, the popularity of the dog token declined rapidly in the third quarter. As such, Google Trends data indicates that the momentum behind the coin’s withdrawal was immediately channeled into the NFT hype.
NFT mania has swept Asia
According to Google Trends, NFT search traffic is currently dominated by Asian countries, with China, Uganda, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines topping the keyword search rankings.
Chinese NFT orders peaked between September 5-11 this year. A month before the summit, Chinese technology group Tencent launched the NFT Huanhe trading platform, and Alibaba launched a marketplace that allows users to exchange licenses to create NFTs from copyrighted content.
However, on September 10, the Chinese Communist Party released a series of statements condemning the NFT through the official state-run newspaper The People’s Daily, which has likely led to a drop in search volume since then.
