{ "study_id": "card-vs-bank-2026-04", "version": "v1.1.0", "published_date": "2026-04-15", "window_label": "April 2026 snapshot", "baseline": { "assetSymbol": "BTC", "countryIso2": "US", "buyAmountUsd": 1000, "dcaMonthlyUsd": 250 }, "paired_exchange_rows": [ { "exchangeSlug": "kucoin", "exchangeName": "KuCoin", "cardMidPct": 3.06, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 20, "gapPct": 2.907, "extraUsdOn1000": 29.07, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 87.24 }, { "exchangeSlug": "mexc", "exchangeName": "MEXC", "cardMidPct": 3.06, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 20, "gapPct": 2.907, "extraUsdOn1000": 29.07, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 87.24 }, { "exchangeSlug": "woox", "exchangeName": "WOO X", "cardMidPct": 3.06, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 20, "gapPct": 2.907, "extraUsdOn1000": 29.07, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 87.24 }, { "exchangeSlug": "kraken", "exchangeName": "Kraken", "cardMidPct": 5.61, "bankMidPct": 0.3162, "ratio": 17.7419, "gapPct": 5.2938, "extraUsdOn1000": 52.94, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 158.76 }, { "exchangeSlug": "binance", "exchangeName": "Binance", "cardMidPct": 2.55, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 16.6667, "gapPct": 2.397, "extraUsdOn1000": 23.97, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 71.88 }, { "exchangeSlug": "bybit", "exchangeName": "Bybit", "cardMidPct": 2.55, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 16.6667, "gapPct": 2.397, "extraUsdOn1000": 23.97, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 71.88 }, { "exchangeSlug": "bitmart", "exchangeName": "BitMart", "cardMidPct": 3.57, "bankMidPct": 0.255, "ratio": 14, "gapPct": 3.315, "extraUsdOn1000": 33.15, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 99.48 }, { "exchangeSlug": "gate", "exchangeName": "Gate.io", "cardMidPct": 3.57, "bankMidPct": 0.255, "ratio": 14, "gapPct": 3.315, "extraUsdOn1000": 33.15, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 99.48 }, { "exchangeSlug": "okx", "exchangeName": "OKX", "cardMidPct": 2.04, "bankMidPct": 0.153, "ratio": 13.3333, "gapPct": 1.887, "extraUsdOn1000": 18.87, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 56.64 }, { "exchangeSlug": "binance-us", "exchangeName": "Binance.US", "cardMidPct": 3.06, "bankMidPct": 0.255, "ratio": 12, "gapPct": 2.805, "extraUsdOn1000": 28.05, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 84.12 }, { "exchangeSlug": "htx", "exchangeName": "HTX", "cardMidPct": 3.06, "bankMidPct": 0.255, "ratio": 12, "gapPct": 2.805, "extraUsdOn1000": 28.05, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 84.12 }, { "exchangeSlug": "bitstamp", "exchangeName": "Bitstamp", "cardMidPct": 4.488, "bankMidPct": 0.459, "ratio": 9.7778, "gapPct": 4.029, "extraUsdOn1000": 40.29, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 120.84 }, { "exchangeSlug": "gemini", "exchangeName": "Gemini", "cardMidPct": 4.0698, "bankMidPct": 0.459, "ratio": 8.8667, "gapPct": 3.6108, "extraUsdOn1000": 36.11, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 108.36 }, { "exchangeSlug": "crypto-com", "exchangeName": "Crypto.com", "cardMidPct": 4.0698, "bankMidPct": 0.561, "ratio": 7.2545, "gapPct": 3.5088, "extraUsdOn1000": 35.09, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 105.24 }, { "exchangeSlug": "coinbase", "exchangeName": "Coinbase", "cardMidPct": 4.5798, "bankMidPct": 0.663, "ratio": 6.9077, "gapPct": 3.9168, "extraUsdOn1000": 39.17, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 117.48 }, { "exchangeSlug": "bitvavo", "exchangeName": "Bitvavo", "cardMidPct": 1.275, "bankMidPct": 0.306, "ratio": 4.1667, "gapPct": 0.969, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.69, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 29.04 }, { "exchangeSlug": "swyftx", "exchangeName": "Swyftx", "cardMidPct": 2.9478, "bankMidPct": 1.0302, "ratio": 2.8614, "gapPct": 1.9176, "extraUsdOn1000": 19.18, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 57.48 }, { "exchangeSlug": "independent-reserve", "exchangeName": "Independent Reserve", "cardMidPct": 1.632, "bankMidPct": 0.612, "ratio": 2.6667, "gapPct": 1.02, "extraUsdOn1000": 10.2, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 30.6 }, { "exchangeSlug": "robinhood", "exchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cardMidPct": 1.02, "bankMidPct": 0.51, "ratio": 2, "gapPct": 0.51, "extraUsdOn1000": 5.1, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 15.36 }, { "exchangeSlug": "bitpanda", "exchangeName": "Bitpanda", "cardMidPct": 1.7238, "bankMidPct": 1.2138, "ratio": 1.4202, "gapPct": 0.51, "extraUsdOn1000": 5.1, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 15.36 }, { "exchangeSlug": "etoro", "exchangeName": "eToro", "cardMidPct": 1.785, "bankMidPct": 1.785, "ratio": 1, "gapPct": 0, "extraUsdOn1000": 0, "extraUsdPerYearAt250Monthly": 0 } ], "country_cheapest_rows": [ { "countryIso2": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0506, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1051, "ratio": 9.9962, "gapPct": 0.9455, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.46 }, { "countryIso2": "DE", "countryName": "Germany", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0404, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1041, "ratio": 9.9942, "gapPct": 0.9363, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.36 }, { "countryIso2": "FR", "countryName": "France", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0404, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1041, "ratio": 9.9942, "gapPct": 0.9363, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.36 }, { "countryIso2": "NL", "countryName": "Netherlands", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0404, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1041, "ratio": 9.9942, "gapPct": 0.9363, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.36 }, { "countryIso2": "AU", "countryName": "Australia", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0812, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1082, "ratio": 9.9926, "gapPct": 0.973, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.73 }, { "countryIso2": "CA", "countryName": "Canada", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.071, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1072, "ratio": 9.9907, "gapPct": 0.9638, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.64 }, { "countryIso2": "PL", "countryName": "Poland", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.02, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1021, "ratio": 9.9902, "gapPct": 0.9179, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.18 }, { "countryIso2": "US", "countryName": "United States", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.02, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1021, "ratio": 9.9902, "gapPct": 0.9179, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.18 }, { "countryIso2": "SE", "countryName": "Sweden", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0608, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1062, "ratio": 9.9887, "gapPct": 0.9546, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.55 }, { "countryIso2": "SG", "countryName": "Singapore", "cheapestCardExchangeSlug": "robinhood", "cheapestCardExchangeName": "Robinhood Crypto", "cheapestCardMidPct": 1.0098, "cheapestBankExchangeSlug": "river", "cheapestBankExchangeName": "River", "cheapestBankMidPct": 0.1011, "ratio": 9.9881, "gapPct": 0.9087, "extraUsdOn1000": 9.09 } ], "hero_stats": { "widestRatio": { "ratio": 20, "exchangeNames": [ "KuCoin", "MEXC", "WOO X" ], "exchangeSlugs": [ "kucoin", "mexc", "woox" ] }, "medianRatio": 12, "largestDollarExample": { "exchangeName": "Kraken", "exchangeSlug": "kraken", "extraUsdOn1000": 52.94, "cardMidPct": 5.61, "bankMidPct": 0.3162 }, "dcaExample": { "extraUsdPerYear": 84.12, "monthlyUsd": 250, "representativeExchangeName": "KuCoin", "representativeExchangeSlug": "kucoin", "representativeGapPct": 2.907 }, "launchDcaExample": { "extraUsdPerYear": 336.6, "monthlyUsd": 1000 }, "breadthCount": 10, "antiCherryPickingSentence": "This is not one outlier: in same-exchange BTC comparisons in the US, card costs more than bank on 20 of 21 exchanges that offer both payment methods, and the cheapest bank-transfer option beats the cheapest card option in 10 of 10 tracked countries.", "pairedExchangeCount": 21, "pairedExchangeCardHigherCount": 20, "pairedExchangeTieCount": 1 }, "citation": { "title": "Card vs Bank BTC Buying Cost Gap — Augea Data Event (April 2026)", "reportUrl": "/reports/card-vs-bank-study", "pressUrl": "/reports/card-vs-bank-study/press", "statUrl": "/stats/card-vs-bank-gap", "datasetUrl": "/data/studies/card-vs-bank-2026-04/README.md", "dataPageUrl": "/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study", "methodologyUrl": "/methodology/card-vs-bank-v1", "chartBaseUrl": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "preferredCitation": "Augea, Card vs Bank BTC Buying Cost Gap — Augea Data Event (April 2026), https://augea.io/reports/card-vs-bank-study, accessed [DATE].", "chartFiles": { "hero": { "dark": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/hero-stat-card-dark", "light": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/hero-stat-card-light" }, "exchangeGap": { "dark": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/exchange-gap-dark", "light": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/exchange-gap-light" }, "countryGap": { "dark": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/country-gap-dark", "light": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/country-gap-light" }, "repeatBuyer": { "dark": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/repeat-buyer-dark", "light": "/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1/repeat-buyer-light" } }, "dataFiles": { "benchmarkJson": "/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study/v1/benchmark-pack.json", "pairedExchangeCsv": "/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study/v1/paired-exchange-gap.csv", "countryCheapestCsv": "/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study/v1/country-cheapest-gap.csv", "readme": "/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study/v1/README.md" }, "report_url": "https://augea.io/reports/card-vs-bank-study", "methodology_url": "https://augea.io/methodology/card-vs-bank-v1", "data_url": "https://augea.io/data/reports/card-vs-bank-study", "chart_base_url": "https://augea.io/charts/card-vs-bank-study/v1" } }