Today, thousands of cryptocurrencies exist and are often compared mainly by their market value. But one essential question remains difficult to measure: which ones are actually used in everyday life?
The CoinAdoptionScore project provides an indicator that helps observe the commercial adoption of different digital currencies and compare their real-world usage with their financial valuation.
Why measure real adoption?
The price of a cryptocurrency does not necessarily reflect its actual use.
A currency may have a high market value while being rarely used to purchase goods and services. Conversely, a less well-known currency may have a stronger presence in everyday transactions.
CoinAdoptionScore aims to provide another perspective:
- How many businesses accept this currency?
- How is it actually used?
- Does its adoption match its current market valuation?
How does the score work?
The CoinAdoptionScore principle is based on a comparison between:
- the number of merchants accepting a cryptocurrency;
- its market capitalization.
The goal is to create a relative adoption indicator: a currency with many accepting merchants compared to its market value receives a higher score.
The data used comes in particular from open sources such as OpenStreetMap for merchant listings.
What does this tool provide?
CoinAdoptionScore allows users to:
- compare different cryptocurrencies based on their commercial usage;
- track the evolution of their adoption;
- distinguish real-world usage from pure speculation;
- highlight projects that are used as actual means of exchange.
The goal is to provide additional information alongside traditional financial indicators.
A different perspective on cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are often evaluated only through:
- their price;
- their market capitalization;
- their trading volume.
But a currency is also a tool for exchange.
For the Bank-Exit collective, adoption by users and merchants is an essential factor: a currency reaches its full purpose when it can be used concretely in everyday life.
A project connected to the real economy
CoinAdoptionScore is part of a broader effort to encourage the practical use of digital currencies.
Alongside the Collective’s merchant map, this tool helps provide a better understanding of how cryptocurrency payment ecosystems are developing.
It highlights the people and businesses building an alternative economy based on direct exchanges between users and professionals.