AUGEA RESEARCH · ARCI v2 · 2026 Q3 EDITION
Augea Retail Cost Index v2
A full-matrix retail crypto cost benchmark. Every supported (country × asset × rail) cell is enumerated with one of four row inclusion tiers — headline, appendix, tracked, or no data yet — alongside reason codes and confidence labels. Snapshot-backed; methodology-frozen per edition.
- Edition
- 2026-Q3
- Methodology
- arci-v2-2026-q3
- Total cells
- 924
- License
- CC-BY-4.0
Coverage shape
ARCI v2 enumerates the full coverage universe and labels every cell with its honest tier and reason code. Headline claims cite only headline rows. Appendix rows are visible with MID/LOW confidence labels. Tracked and no-data-yet rows surface coverage intent without making benchmark conclusions.
Headline benchmark-ready
9
cells
Appendix-ready
11
cells
Tracked but not benchmarked
884
cells
No usable data yet
20
cells
Headline benchmark — BTC × Tier A countries × {card, bank}
Cells passing all four headline thresholds (≥ 5 distinct exchanges, ≥ 5 rankable rows, FRESH freshness, tight cross-exchange range < 0.4 percentage points). Confidence tier: HIGH.
| Country | Asset | Rail | Median | Range | Exchanges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.20% | 5 |
| Germany | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 5 |
| France | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 5 |
| United Kingdom | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.20% | 5 |
| Netherlands | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 5 |
| Poland | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 5 |
| Sweden | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.20% | 5 |
| Singapore | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 5 |
| United States | BTC | bank | 0.20% | 0.10% – 0.20% | 6 |
Expanded appendix
Appendix rows clear the appendix threshold but not the headline threshold — wider cross-exchange range or partial coverage. Confidence tier: MID. These cells are visible for coverage transparency but never appear as headline conclusions.
| Country | Asset | Rail | Median | Range | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | BTC | card | 2.10% | 1.60% – 2.80% | MID |
| Canada | BTC | card | 4.90% | 4.10% – 5.60% | MID |
| Canada | BTC | bank | 0.30% | 0.30% – 0.80% | MID |
| Germany | BTC | card | 1.50% | 1.20% – 1.70% | MID |
| France | BTC | card | 1.50% | 1.20% – 1.70% | MID |
| United Kingdom | BTC | card | 1.50% | 1.20% – 1.70% | MID |
| Netherlands | BTC | card | 1.50% | 1.20% – 1.70% | MID |
| Poland | BTC | card | 1.40% | 1.20% – 1.60% | MID |
| Sweden | BTC | card | 1.50% | 1.20% – 1.70% | MID |
| Singapore | BTC | card | 2.30% | 1.90% – 2.60% | MID |
| United States | BTC | card | 2.10% | 1.70% – 2.60% | MID |
Stablecoin route slice (USDC, USDT)
Stablecoins are route infrastructure, not benchmark peers. ARCI v2 surfaces them in a separate slice with separate methodology. In Phase 1 every cell is tracked with reason stablecoin_route_slice; per-cell entry/exit cost data lands in a future edition.
48 cells across 12 Tier A countries × 2 rails × 2 stablecoins.
Coverage matrix appendix
Every supported cell appears in the dataset with its honest tier and reason code. Hiding cells behind silent drops is forbidden. The full coverage matrix is in the downloadable dataset; below is a sample of tracked and no-data-yet rows for transparency.
| Country | Asset | Rail | Inclusion state | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ETH | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | ETH | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | SOL | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | SOL | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | XRP | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | XRP | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | ADA | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | ADA | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | DOT | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | DOT | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | LTC | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | LTC | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | BCH | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | BCH | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | AVAX | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | AVAX | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | LINK | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | LINK | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | MATIC | card | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
| Australia | MATIC | bank | Tracked but not benchmarked | insufficient rankable rows |
Showing 20 of 904 tracked / no-data-yet rows. Full matrix in the dataset pack.
Methodology, dataset, and citation
- Frozen v2 methodology →
Tier definitions, threshold rules, reason-code dictionary, claim boundaries.
- Dataset pack (CSV + JSON) →
Full-matrix dataset; every supported cell as a row.
- Press kit →
Safe headline claim snippets, attribution, license note.
- Previous edition: ARCI v1 — 2026 Q2 →
Retained for citation continuity.
Estimates, not quotes. Aggregate-only — no per-exchange named comparison. Phase 1 ships the full-matrix infrastructure; the appendix tier expands in Phase 2 when per-asset and per-local-rail ingestion data clears the appendix threshold. Survey-derived findings are governed by a separate contract and do not appear in ARCI.
Augea, Augea Retail Cost Index v2 — 2026 Q3 Edition (Augea Research, 2026), https://augea.io/reports/arci-v2-2026-q3, accessed [DATE]. CC-BY-4.0.