The rumors of bitcoin’s death are greatly exaggerated, according to the stunning number of obituaries it racked up during a dismal crypto bear market.

The original cryptocurrency has died 90 times in 2018, according to 99 Bitcoins. That’s slightly less than the 125 times it died in 2017.

Despite detractors’ eagerness to bury it once and for all, bitcoin’s media profile has never been higher. So even as its price cratered, Google searches for bitcoin have rocketed to record highs.

Google Searches For Bitcoin Soared

As CCN.com reported, Google searches for “bitcoin” recently topped online searches for President Donald Trump. That’s staggering when you consider that Trump is the center of most news coverage on any given day.

Using this metric, it’s safe to say that bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry have entered the mainstream consciousness.

A year ago, bitcoin and the crypto market were fringe topics that were mostly a curiosity to readers of financial news. Today, mainstream business outlets cover bitcoin’s daily price fluctuations and the emerging blockchain industry on a daily basis.

Here’s a flashback to some of the more memorable, recent proclamations that “bitcoin is dead.”

Atulya Sarin, a finance professor at Santa Clara University, insists that bitcoin will never supplant gold as a store of value, so bitcoiners should just give it up already.

It appears bitcoin is now entering a death spiral…bitcoin will quickly go to zero.

‘Worthless’ Bitcoin Has Entered Death Spiral: Finance Professor https://t.co/wBTE0Wai9n — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 3, 2018

“I see bitcoin as a dead man walking,” said Peter Mallouk, the president of Creative Planning, a Kansas investment firm.

The recent precipitous drop may be the beginning of its inevitable and inexorable death spiral.

Mallouk said future generations will read about bitcoin in finance textbooks as a cautionary tale about the dangers of delusional zealots “desperate to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

Bitcoin is a ‘Dead Man Walking’, Claims Creative Planning CIO https://t.co/iDSHOZJQck — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 8, 2018

Environmentalists — who claim crypto mining is an existential threat to humankind — are breathlessly celebrating the bear market, saying it’s a sure sign that bitcoin is “will soon be no more.”

Anti-Crypto Environmentalists Gleeful that Bitcoin is ‘Becoming Worthless’ https://t.co/78L4Qi9VkZ — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 12, 2018

Teen crypto millionaire Erik Finman said “bitcoin is dead” because it’s “too fragmented” and there’s too much infighting within the ecosystem.

“It may have a bull market or two left in it, but long-term, it’s dead,” Finman predicted.

Teenage Crypto Millionaire Erik Finman Says Bitcoin is Pretty Much Dead, Offers Hope for Bitcoin Cash https://t.co/VU1T8sItIH — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 17, 2018

Crypto entrepreneur Calvin Ayre — an advocate of Bitcoin Cash Satoshi Vision (SV) — predicts that the bitcoin price will plunge to zero in 2019 because it’s worthless.

It has no utility. It does not do anything.

Ironically, Ayre claims that the original bitcoin is an impostor and that Bitcoin SV is the “real bitcoin.”

Bitcoin Price Will Crash to Zero Says Bitcoin Cash Founder Calvin Ayre https://t.co/34ZrOZVJhu — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 17, 2018

Despite these noisy protestations, bitcoin is still alive and kicking. Moreover, even its harshest critics have heaped praise on blockchain, the revolutionary technology underpinning crypto.

As 2018 draws to a close, many industry insiders are optimistic and confident that 2019 will be a blockbuster year of unprecedented expansion fueled by a surge in institutional investments.

Winklevoss: ‘Failure of Imagination’ Blinds Haters

Early bitcoiners like the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, are unfazed by the current market slump and are betting big on the long-term future of crypto.

As for bitcoin skeptics who can’t see its potential, Tyler Winklevoss said they merely suffer from an epic “failure of imagination.”

Happy holidays from CCN.com!

🎶 On the 12th day of REKT-mas, my cryptos gave to me 12 markets crashing

11 feds indicting

10 hacked smart contracts

9 forks of Bitcoin

8 lambo repos

7 bankrupt miners

6 useless tokens

5 exit scams 🎵🎺

4 exchange hacks

3 rage quits

2 margin calls 💯

and a Bitcoin o-bit-u-a-ry — Clark Moody (@clarkmoody) December 4, 2018

Featured image from Shutterstock.