Google, the leading indicator used to track the popularity of Bitcoin 

BTC

$20,882

 and other cryptocurrencies, celebrated its 23rd anniversary on Monday.

Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when both were students at Stanford University, the search engine has spent the majority of its 23 years of existence being one of the primary entry points to the internet.

Following the inception of cryptocurrencies, Google has been the primary method to search for new coins, track market trends and learn how to buy crypto.

Since internet search statistics are an excellent way to track user behavior, Google Trends has become a reliable source for understanding user interest in a near real-time fashion. Traders use the tool, which analyzes the popularity of search queries in a specific period, to identify emerging patterns.

Initial coin offerings, or ICOs, decentralized finance, or DeFi, and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, all experienced a spike in Google Trends before taking the main stage in the crypto ecosystem.

A quick search for Bitcoin shows that internet user interest almost overlaps with the price volatility of the largest cryptocurrency. A similar overlap can be seen in Dogecoin 

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 charts.

Related: Google partners with NFT leader Dapper Labs to support Flow blockchain

Neutral statistics aside, Google’s stance on cryptocurrencies mimics the perception of the mainstream. In March 2018, following the infamous ICO boom, Google banned cryptocurrency-related advertising on its platform via an update to its Financial Services policy.

Since then, the search giant has softened on the subject, announcing that crypto ads by regulated entities are good to go again. While the company still does not allow DeFi ads or celebrity endorsements related to crypto, advertisers registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network can advertise their crypto exchange and wallet services.