Trinity Adoption IndexTRINITY EXCLUSIVE
Proprietary composite index combining merchant count, growth rate, Lightning penetration, and data freshness into a single adoption health score. Captures multi-dimensional adoption momentum.
Trinity exclusive model
This metric is a proprietary Trinity Insights model. Its formula, inputs, weights and parameters are NOT disclosed. The page documents only the output (bounded scale, interpretation zones, historical context). Access to the score and its time series is via the REST API and the MCP server, subject to the required tier.
What is it?
A Trinity-exclusive composite display showing three indices on the same 0-100 left Y-axis: the gold Adoption Index (the headline composite), the blue Merchant Score (the merchant-count sub-component), and the green Lightning Score (the Lightning-penetration sub-component). A BTC price overlay (white, right USD axis) is added by default for cycle context. A small 'Historical median' annotation marker may also appear at the bottom of the chart, reporting the long-run median of the gold Adoption Index across the available history. The headline index is normalized so that the historical median provides the reference anchor; the two sub-components are persistently visible, not hover-only, so the reader can see at a glance which sub-dimension is driving the headline.
How to read
Read the gold line as the headline Adoption Index oscillating between 0 and 100. Read the blue and green lines as the Merchant Score and Lightning Score sub-components on the same 0-100 axis - they help diagnose which dimension is pulling the headline up or down. Read the white line as BTC price on the right USD axis for context. The 'Historical median' annotation at the bottom is the long-run reference value of the gold series; today's gold value relative to that anchor is the primary momentum read. Direction matters more than absolute level: a rising gold line from a low base is more informative than a high stable line.
Key zones
No drawn threshold lines or shaded zones are rendered on the chart - the only visible reference is the 'Historical median' annotation at the bottom. Qualitatively: a gold line well above the historical median is an above-average adoption regime; a gold line below the median is below-average; a sharp upward inflection above the median is the strongest momentum indication. The blue Merchant Score typically dominates in absolute level (it tracks the cumulative merchant count) while the green Lightning Score moves in steps as the Lightning sub-population evolves; the gold composite blends both with the additional weight of growth and freshness components.
What to observe
Track the gold line alongside the BTC overlay: a rising gold series during a BTC drawdown indicates structural adoption decoupled from speculation; a falling gold series during a BTC rally indicates speculative interest without real-world adoption follow-through. Use the blue and green sub-component lines as built-in diagnostic: when the gold composite rises, check whether it is the blue Merchant Score (more merchants in absolute terms) or the green Lightning Score (deeper Lightning penetration) that is doing the work. Divergences between the two sub-components are themselves a richer indication than either component alone.
Historical context
The Trinity Adoption Index was constructed to address the lack of a single reliable composite for BTCMap-derived adoption. Individual sub-metrics each carry biases (count is lagging, growth is base-rate-sensitive, Lightning share depends on tagging quality, freshness depends on contributor activity). The composite blends these to mitigate any single bias. The 'Historical median' annotation at the bottom of the chart is computed across the full available history and provides a stable visual anchor; it is not a moving target. Pre-BTCMap-era adoption narratives are qualitative context that does not appear in the visible series.
Expert notes
⚠️ Trinity Exclusive Model - The composite weighting is an editorial choice; different weightings would produce different curves. The blue Merchant Score and green Lightning Score lines are the two largest sub-components surfaced visually, but the headline composite also incorporates growth-rate, freshness, geographic-diversity and community-count weights that are not surfaced as separate lines on this chart. The 'Historical median' annotation reflects the long-run median of the gold series - its absolute value (which on this build appears in the low double digits) reports where the index has historically clustered, not a fixed editorial threshold like 50.
Common mistakes to avoid
The Trinity Adoption Index is not a price predictor - it measures merchant-adoption momentum, which is correlated with but not predictive of BTC price. A reading at the historical median does not mean adoption is 'average in absolute terms', only that it is at its own long-run anchor. The blue and green sub-components are diagnostic dimensions, not standalone scores to be compared head-to-head with the gold composite - they live on the same axis as the composite but they answer different questions. The chart cannot capture off-BTCMap adoption (online-only Bitcoin commerce, P2P transactions, merchants not in the registry).
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/btcmap-adoption-index/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "btcmap-adoption-index",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: performance. 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.