Onboarding Wave (Google Trends)
Search interest for newcomer terms ('how to buy bitcoin', 'comment acheter bitcoin', 'what is bitcoin'). Tracks mainstream onboarding velocity across cycles — the absolute proxy for retail intent to enter crypto.
What is it?
Multi-line chart of Google Trends interest for newcomer-intent terms : 'how to buy bitcoin' (English), 'comment acheter bitcoin' (French), and 'what is bitcoin' (English). These queries capture pure first-time buyer intent — distinct from price-curious searches.
How to read
Each line shows the 0-100 normalized search interest for one query. Three queries fetched : two English-language queries (general intent + price-curious) and one French-language query (Trinity FR-first edge). Compare the English-language phases vs the French-language wave to identify geographic rotation — Trinity is the only narrative dashboard that splits onboarding intent by language.
Key zones
Each language has its own historical pattern. Across all three queries, peaks above 70 historically coincide with the final 3-6 months of a bull cycle. Sub-15 readings sustained for 6+ months mark accumulation phases.
What to observe
Watch for asymmetric spikes : if 'comment acheter bitcoin' (FR) breaks out before the English queries, French-speaking retail is leading. Conversely, English-only spikes without French follow-through suggest US-isolated retail FOMO without globally-mainstreamed momentum. Spanish + Asian-language queries are planned for a future Trinity Sprint backfill.
Historical context
The English 'how to buy bitcoin' query has historically reached its all-time-high zone in December 2017 (ICO mania). The French 'comment acheter bitcoin' query has tracked the same cycle phases at lower magnitude. Both queries pulled back into low single-digit readings during the 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 bears.
Expert notes
Onboarding searches lead first-time-buyer flows by ~30-60 days (the time between curiosity and KYC completion + first deposit). Combined with stablecoin market cap velocity, this metric forecasts liquidity inflows.
Common mistakes to avoid
A spike in 'what is bitcoin' is NOT necessarily bullish — it can also reflect crisis-driven curiosity (after a Tesla announcement, after Mt Gox news, after a stock market crash). Cross-check with the bear capitulation basket to distinguish FOMO-curiosity from fear-curiosity.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/narrative-intelligence/narrative-onboarding-wave/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "narrative-onboarding-wave",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: free. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
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Institutional disclaimer
Trinity Insights is an educational and analytical tool. The metric above does not constitute investment advice. Trinity Insights is not a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) registered under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. See the full disclaimer.