This is our own data rather than a summary of somebody else's. We pulled twelve-month search volume and trend figures, cross-checked against Google Trends, for 66 crypto and Web3 keywords, covering exchanges, wallets, NFTs, GameFi and explainer terms.
Sixty-two returned usable data. The median twelve-month change across those was approximately minus 56 percent.
That is not a niche effect confined to NFTs, which is the story most people expect. It runs straight through the commercial core of the sector.
The steepest falls are commercial terms
These are the queries with buying intent, the ones that make a crypto publication money. They fell hardest.
| Keyword | 12-month change |
|---|---|
| kucoin review | -98% |
| trezor review | -89% |
| gemini exchange review | -86% |
| best nft marketplace | -85% |
| binance review | -84% |
| metamask review | -78% |
| bybit review | -78% |
| best crypto wallets | -76% |
| best hardware wallet | -76% |
| crypto.com review | -75% |
| coinbase review | -70% |
Brand review terms took the worst of it. Nine of the eleven steepest declines in our sample were searches for a review of a specific exchange or wallet.
That pattern is consistent with a market where the people who were going to pick a platform have already picked one.
The three that grew
Out of 62 keywords with trend data, exactly three increased. They are not a random three.
+300%
write for us crypto
People looking to buy placement on crypto publications
+243%
best crypto exchange for beginners
First-time buyers choosing a platform
+125%
best crypto wallet for beginners
First-time holders choosing storage
Two of the three are beginner-qualified commercial terms. The third is people trying to buy placement on crypto publications.
Read together, they describe a market where the speculative audience has left and two groups remain: people entering the category for the first time, and people who want to advertise to them.
The beginner signal is the one worth acting on. A first-time buyer searching "best crypto wallet for beginners" has not chosen a platform yet, which is precisely what the contracting brand-review terms suggest everyone else already has.
What held up best
The mildest declines were foundational explainer terms and one long-established brand.
| Keyword | 12-month change |
|---|---|
| what is blockchain | -18% |
| what is an nft | -19% |
| hardware wallet | -19% |
| kraken review | -28% |
| digital collectibles | -34% |
"What is blockchain" and "what is an NFT" fell by under 20 percent, against a median of 56. Curiosity about what these things are has proved far more durable than intent to buy them.
Read this before quoting the number
The caveat that matters
A twelve-month comparison ending in 2026 measures against 2025, and 2025 contained a price peak, visible in the historical charts on CoinGecko's Bitcoin price history. Some of this decline is the cycle rather than permanent structural loss.
We would not describe minus 56 percent as a forecast. We would describe it as the current state of demand, measured once, on a stated date, against a stated baseline.
Search volume figures are also estimates. They are directionally reliable in aggregate and should not be treated as precise for any single keyword.