Nick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, has published groundbreaking research on how Google Trends on how cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ripple mirror price rises and falls.

Speaking to CNBC, Mr Colas said that the number of Google searches on ‘bitcoin‘ mimicked the price trend of the cryptocurrency.

He told the business network: “Bitcoin – because it has a notionally fixed supply – will vary price based on demand.

“By looking at the number of people who search for the word ‘bitcoin’ on Google, we get a pretty good sense of where the interest is.

“The search trends show the same price trends. Just after Thanksgiving, the sharp rise in bitcoin search trend saw a double in wallet growth.”

Mr Colas said that the recent dip in the bitcoin price showed up the search trends too, explaining: “Bitcoin searches have really trailed off.

“The interest levels definitely show you where bitcoin has these big breakouts and pullbacks. All the negative headlines about bitcoin, the hacks, and so on, it’s taken people away.”

Mr Colas, one of the first analysts to follow bitcoin, showed how search traffic saw a significant pick-up between Thanksgiving and December 17 as bitcoin prices surged to a record at $19,43.

He said: “Search trends skyrocketed after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. in November of last year — more than doubling in the course of just a couple of weeks.”

The cryptocurrency pioneer said that, despite the recent troubles, he was “optimistic about the currency’s long-term future”.