Original research · the weekly find
The weekly find — week 40, 2026.
measured by Skontro · permanent edition · 2026-09-28 → 2026-10-04 · to date, not final
Week 40, 2026 (to date), USD books: cheapest Kraken $4.19 all-in, priciest Coinbase $12.27.
01 · USD books
In dollars.
Skontro's dollar series · ISO week 40, 2026
Cheapest measured — full basket
Kraken
$4.19 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Coinbase
$12.27 all-in · 2.9× the cheapest
“Full basket” = every asset measured this week; the week-over-week note below uses only the basket both weeks share.
This week’s notes (3)
The widest measured exchange gap this week was on BTC: a $1,000 buy averaged $1.07 all-in at OKX vs $12.00 at Coinbase — 11.2× apart over 53 paired hourly measurements.
Time of day showed up in the measurements this week: the average hidden spread was $1.45 in the 08–12 UTC window vs $0.86 in 12–16 — 69.6% apart for the same $1,000 buy.
Week over week, OKX's measured average all-in cost per $1,000 buy moved from $2.76 to $3.22 (+16.5%, 3834 vs 1215 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-09-28 → 2026-10-04 · 15,654 measurements · estimated exchanges excluded · Method: /true-cost/methodology
02 · USDT books
In USDT.
Skontro's dollar series · USDT books, never blended with USD
Cheapest measured — full basket
MEXC
0.97 USDT all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Coinbase
13.42 USDT all-in · 13.9× the cheapest
“Full basket” = every asset measured this week; the week-over-week note below uses only the basket both weeks share.
“0% fee” check: MEXC advertises a near-zero taker fee — measured all-in this week 0.97 USDT, 0.47 USDT hidden spread.
This week’s notes (3)
The widest measured exchange gap this week was on NEAR: a 1,000 USDT buy averaged 0.38 USDT all-in at Bitget vs 14.03 USDT at Coinbase — 37.1× apart over 143 paired hourly measurements.
Time of day showed up in the measurements this week: the average hidden spread was 0.83 USDT in the 20–24 UTC window vs 0.43 USDT in 12–16 — 92.9% apart for the same 1,000 USDT buy.
Week over week, MEXC's measured average all-in cost per 1,000 USDT buy moved from 1.20 USDT to 0.97 USDT (-19.2%, 3998 vs 3598 measurements, same 24-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-09-28 → 2026-10-04 · 26,958 measurements · estimated exchanges excluded · Method: /true-cost/methodology
03 · EUR, the founding service
Founding EUR series.
Skontro's founding EUR series · longest continuous record
Cheapest measured — full basket
OKX
€2.24 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Coinbase
€13.03 all-in · 5.8× the cheapest
“Full basket” = every asset measured this week; the week-over-week note below uses only the basket both weeks share.
“0% fee” check: MEXC advertises a near-zero taker fee — measured all-in this week €2.70, €2.20 hidden spread.
This week’s notes (3)
The widest measured exchange gap this week was on BTC: a €1,000 buy averaged €1.22 all-in at Binance vs €12.33 at Coinbase — 10.1× apart over 151 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, KuCoin's measured average all-in cost per €1,000 buy moved from €2.70 to €2.07 (-23.5%, 672 vs 604 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Week over week, Crypto.com's measured average all-in cost per €1,000 buy moved from €7.57 to €9.26 (+22.4%, 1006 vs 904 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-09-28 → 2026-10-04 · 30,083 measurements · estimated exchanges excluded · Method: /true-cost/methodology
Cite: Skontro Weekly Find 2026-W40, measured 2026-09-28 to 2026-10-04, 72,695 hourly order-book measurements. skontro.com/research/finds/2026-W40
See what a buy costs today, live · or this week’s rolling find and the monthly index.
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Window: Monday 2026-09-28 → 2026-10-04 (UTC, ISO week) · 72,695 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology · JSON: /api/truecost/weekly?week=2026-W40
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