Hype Wars: Artificial Intelligence Vs. Bitcoin
Bearish Trend Line Stops Bitcoin’s Advancement
Google search data has revealed that global interest in the term “AI” has reached an unprecedented level, although it still falls short of the peak excitement surrounding Bitcoin in 2017. In recent months, artificial intelligence has been all the rage, with some considering it the latest trend after the hype around cryptocurrencies and the metaverse.
OpenAI executives recently signaled in a blog post on May 23 that AI is projected to surpass expert-level performance in most domains within the next decade, rivaling the productivity of today’s largest corporations.
Speaking of “hype wars”, Bitcoin seems to be the winner. Its peak search interest reached 100 in December 2017 when the cryptocurrency was nearing $20,000 for the first time. The term “AI” registered a remarkable 89 on Google Trends, but it still trails behind BTC.
China Loves AI, Bitcoin Falls Short
The situation is markedly different in China, where cryptocurrency is banned, and Google search is limited, as the country prefers Baidu as its search engine.
Based on Google Trends data, Chinese users consistently exhibited more interest in AI compared to Bitcoin on a monthly basis since May 2013. Over the last ten years, there were only three instances where Bitcoin surpassed AI in search volume in China, all coinciding with significant Bitcoin events.
The first occurred in November 2013, when Bitcoin overtook AI in search volume as its price reached a then-record high of $300 on Mt. Gox. The second instance took place in December 2017, during Bitcoin’s monumental surge to nearly $20,000. The most recent occurrence was in February 2021, when Tesla announced a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin and the decision to accept BTC payments. Tesla’s Bitcoin adoption propelled the apex coin above $43,000.
Chart Analysis – BTC/USD
After spending a lot of time in the close vicinity of $27,000, it looked like Bitcoin would finally break away and put some distance between it and the S/R/ level. But surprise, surprise, it is currently trading at $27,160 after some more back and forth between the two Bollinger bands.
After failing to break $27K to the downside, the pair gained bullish momentum but didn’t manage to break the bearish trend line drawn from the April high. For the time being, it looks like neither bulls nor bears have the necessary strength to break a significant level decisively. This type of price action calls for caution; breaks should be confirmed by re-tests and/or high volume.
