Bitcoin Chatter on Twitter Nears Highest Level in 3 Years Amid Price Surge

The number of tweets about bitcoin reached its highest level since mid-January 2018 on Wednesday, according to social media data collected by The TIE, with over 92,000 tweets posted.

The recent surge in bitcoin-related Twitter content comes as the leading cryptocurrency surged past $23,000 yesterday, reaching an intra-day high just below the $24,000 mark.

Jan. 17, 2018, was the last time this many bitcoin tweets were sent in a single day, after bitcoin's price started crashing from its then-all-time high just below $20,000.

Throughout much of 2020, the bitcoin rally has been dominated by a narrative focused on institutional investors allocating large amounts of capital to the cryptocurrency, including Stanley Druckenmiller and Guggenheim's Scott Minerd.

But near-record levels of Twitter activity is one signal that retail bitcoin investors are not being left behind.

“There has been a lot of talk that bitcoin’s latest bull run is fueled by Wall Street jumping on board, but if yesterday is any indication it’s the everyman who is fueling the conversation, specifically on Twitter," according to Aubrey Strobel, communications director for bitcoin rewards startup Lolli.

Tweetstorm

According to data from The TIE, it wasn't just high-volume tweeters driving the uptick. The number of unique Twitter accounts tweeting about bitcoin also surged, with roughly 50,000 users engaging in the bitcoin conversation Wednesday, the most since before Christmas 2017.

Strobel's company runs one of the most popular corporate bitcoin Twitter accounts, and she told CoinDesk Lolli is seeing a surge in interaction with its content as "retail investors are finding every opportunity to own bitcoin."

Other indications of strong retail participation come from the use of consumer-focused bitcoin products, like record buying volume on Square's (SQ) Cash App along with strong demand for new services like PayPal’s (PYPL) cryptocurrency features.

Commenting on the surge in social media activity, Messari bitcoin analyst Ryan Watkins told CoinDesk, "Institutions may be leading the charge this time around, but retail is definitely not sitting on the sidelines."