Press handoff · Retail Cost Index · Edition 2026-Q2

Retail Crypto Cost BenchmarkEditorial Data Pack

One URL for editorial teams: headline stats, publication-ready chart assets, suggested headlines, reusable attribution, and canonical links — all CC-BY-4.0.

By Per Englund · Founder & Research Lead, Augea ResearchContact: hello@augea.ioPublished 2026-04-21CC-BY-4.0

One-line summary

In matched card routes, Canada median retail BTC buy cost is 3.50× higher than Poland (4.90% vs 1.40%), using country medians from Augea's public benchmark data.

Headline ratio

3.50×

Canada vs Poland (card)

Median card cost

2.03%

Across 10 countries

Card vs bank gap

9.67×

Cross-country median card-to-bank ratio

Citation-ready stats · source-backed, not marketing proof

Each card shows one report-backed number with its full evidence frame attached: source, edition, captured-at date, methodology, and license. Use these when the stat will be republished or excerpted alongside attribution. Estimates, not quotes.

HEADLINE RATIO

3.50×

Country median pair on matched card routes

Canada (4.90%) vs Poland (1.40%), card rail

SOURCE: Augea Research
EDITION: Retail Cost Index · Edition 2026-Q2
CAPTURED: 2026-04-21
METHODOLOGY: Read methodology
LICENSE: CC-BY-4.0

Estimates, not quotes. Country medians from snapshot-backed pricing windows; values may shift with FX, fees, and market conditions.

MEDIAN CARD COST

2.03%

Cross-country median for card routes

Across 10 tracked countries on the matched benchmark slice

SOURCE: Augea Research
EDITION: Retail Cost Index · Edition 2026-Q2
CAPTURED: 2026-04-21
METHODOLOGY: Read methodology
LICENSE: CC-BY-4.0

Estimates, not quotes. Country medians from snapshot-backed pricing windows; values may shift with FX, fees, and market conditions.

CARD VS BANK GAP

9.67×

Cross-country median card-to-bank ratio

Card-rail median divided by bank-rail median across the same country set

SOURCE: Augea Research
EDITION: Retail Cost Index · Edition 2026-Q2
CAPTURED: 2026-04-21
METHODOLOGY: Read methodology
LICENSE: CC-BY-4.0

Estimates, not quotes. Country medians from snapshot-backed pricing windows; values may shift with FX, fees, and market conditions.

Press-kit charts

Download dark, white, or SVG versions of each chart. Every asset is CC-BY-4.0. Use the white variants when republishing on light editorial surfaces. Click any on-page preview to enlarge.

Focus map

Cropped for readability across tracked regions. Use when precise geography labels must stay legible.

World map

Same benchmark slice at full-world scale for broad geography context in editorial layouts.

Outlier gap chart (card rail)
Primary editorial chart: one-country outlier versus a tight 9-country cluster on a shared axis.
Alt: Outlier chart showing Canada as a clear cost outlier versus the 9-country card-rail cluster.

Hero stat card
Claim-gated country pair headline comparison at $100 baseline.
Alt: Hero benchmark card showing Canada vs Poland at 3.50× on card routes.

Country ladder (card rail)
Country medians for card routes in the matched benchmark slice.
Alt: Horizontal country ladder ranking median card costs for the benchmark countries.

Card vs bank delta
Within-country card premium versus bank transfer medians.
Alt: Bar chart showing card minus bank median percentage-point deltas by country.

Context map (card rail)
Two-tone context map: outlier (Canada) versus the nine-country cluster. Precision lives in the chart and grid, not the map.
Alt: World map with the outlier country set apart from the nine-country cluster in a single tone.

On-site quick view

Native dark-theme version of the country ladder, rendered directly from the benchmark data in the Augea design system. For publish-ready exports, use the downloads above.

Country ladder (card rail) · on-site preview

Country medians for card routes. Solid bar = median; light range = observed low–high.

Canada
4.90%
Singapore
2.30%
Australia
2.10%
United States
2.10%
Germany
1.50%
France
1.50%
United Kingdom
1.50%
Netherlands
1.50%
Sweden
1.50%
Poland
1.40%

Solid bar = median · light range = observed low–high · 18 comparable assets per country

Suggested headlines

Why the same BTC buy costs 3.50× more in Canada than Poland
Retail crypto buy costs vary sharply by country and payment rail
Card routes remain materially more expensive than bank transfer across country medians

Standfirst / blurb

Augea's Q2 2026 benchmark compares retail BTC buy costs across 10 countries and two payment rails. Using snapshot-backed country medians, the study shows material cost dispersion by market and consistent card-premium behaviour versus bank transfer.

Embed this chart

Use the edition-locked ARCI dispersion card iframe when you want the benchmark to remain linked to source, methodology, and license in one reusable object.

Embed URL · dark

https://augea.io/embed/arci/dispersion-card?theme=dark&edition=2026-q2

Embed URL · light

https://augea.io/embed/arci/dispersion-card?theme=light&edition=2026-q2

Iframe snippet

<iframe
  src="https://augea.io/embed/arci/dispersion-card?theme=dark&edition=2026-q2"
  title="Augea Retail Cost Index · Dispersion card (Q2 2026)"
  width="920"
  height="760"
  style="width:100%;max-width:920px;border:0;overflow:hidden"
  loading="lazy"
  referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
></iframe>

Attribution snippet

Data source: Augea, Retail Crypto Cost Benchmark (Q2 2026)
Report: https://augea.io/reports/retail-crypto-cost-benchmark-2026-q2
Methodology: https://augea.io/methodology/retail-crypto-cost-benchmark-v1
Data appendix: https://augea.io/data/reports/retail-crypto-cost-benchmark-2026-q2
License: CC-BY-4.0

Press contact

Per Englund · hello@augea.io

Data source

Live country summaries (card + bank) · Latest captured /cheapest snapshot (Q2 2026)

Primary links

Report Methodology Dataset CC-BY-4.0