From obscurity to mainstream: Google Trends data reveals Solana's volatile journey

Early in 2020, Solana (SOL) entered the crypto stage with little fanfare. Its mainnet launch flew under the radar, and Google search interest barely registered a pulse. In a market still dominated by Bitcoin headlines and Ethereum (ETH) developments, Solana was just another name in a sea of blockchain experiments.

Fast forward five years, and the story couldn't be more different.

Today, Solana is one of the most searched cryptocurrencies on the planet. At times, it even overtakes Ethereum and challenges Bitcoin in the global Google Trends rankings.

Its rise has been far from steady. Public interest in Solana has surged during bull markets, crashed in tandem with scandals and price collapses, and roared back during high-octane moments like the NFT boom and meme coin mania.

In this article, I'll dive into that journey, tracing how Google Trends data reflects Solana's volatile path from obscurity to mainstream attention. Because when it comes to Solana, the search bar doesn't lie - when people start Googling it en masse, something big is usually brewing.

Key highlights:

* 2021: Solana hits the radar, the NFT boom, and the first Google Trends spike

Solana spent most of 2020 in near-total anonymity. But by early 2021, something started to shift.

As the broader crypto market entered a fresh bull run, Solana's price began to climb. And so did curiosity.

Google Trends showed a modest rise in searches for Solana, displaying early signs of life in both its ecosystem and investor interest. DeFi projects began launching, developers were paying attention, and retail users were taking notice.

Then came the NFT explosion.

By mid-2021, Solana was already riding the crypto wave, but also making its own in a way. The launch of high-profile NFT collections like Degenerate Ape Academy catapulted Solana into the spotlight.

This was a cultural moment. NFT enthusiasts were flocking to Solana for its lower fees and faster transactions compared to Ethereum. And Google searches surged accordingly.

In September 2021, Solana did something no one saw coming: it overtook Ethereum in Google searches during multiple days of that week. On September 7 and again on September 9, Solana claimed more global search volume than the world's second-largest cryptocurrency. That week, its Google Trends score hit 84/100 - an all-time high at the time.

But it didn't stop there.

By November 2021, as SOL soared to an all-time high of around $258, Solana's search interest peaked at a perfect 100. That marked the moment Solana had fully arrived - not just as a project with potential, but as a household name in crypto. For the first time, the internet was talking about Solana, and not just developers and insiders.

* 2022: Collapse, crashes, and going quiet

If 2021 was Solana's breakout year, then 2022 was the crash landing.

As the crypto market turned bearish, Solana's price began a steep descent. From its November 2021 high near $258, SOL lost almost 95% of its value over the course of the year. And the drop was both financial and psychological. The hype dried up, headlines vanished, and search interest tanked.

Google Trends data mirrored the collapse. After peaking in late 2021, searches for "Solana" fell off a cliff. By mid-2022, the trend line had slipped into the teens. In some weeks, it was nearly back to the single digits. Momentum was gone. Curiosity was gone. And to many, Solana looked like just another fallen star in the post-bull-market rubble.

Then came the knockout punch: the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

In November 2022, the implosion of the FTX exchange (one of Solana's most high-profile backers) caused an earthquake through the entire industry. But for Solana, it was personal. The project had deep ties to FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, and when trust in them evaporated, so did confidence in Solana.

SOL's price was slashed in half in just days, and any remaining goodwill disappeared.

Search interest evaporated. Google Trends scores for "Solana" dropped to some of their lowest since early 2021, signaling that public interest had all but flatlined. After a meteoric rise, Solana had entered its darkest chapter. It was out of favor, out of focus, and nearly out of sight.

* 2023: Solana's great comeback, meme coins, and search volume explosion

After a brutal 2022, few expected Solana to bounce back as quickly (or as loudly) as it did in 2