CRYPTONOMY

Czechia holds 6th place, confirming its role as the fastest-growing retail crypto economy in the EU. It stands out with a unique combination of a high density of acceptance points (1,065 verified merchants) and a favourable tax package that, since February 2025, has introduced a three-year holding test and an annual CZK 100,000 limit on tax-free income.

Nigeria and Argentina show massive grassroots adoption, where crypto assets – above all dollar stablecoins – act as a de facto parallel financial system protecting people from hyperinflation. Physical infrastructure lags behind but is compensated by a sprawling P2P structure.

Although physical infrastructure remains minimal, extreme retail transaction volumes and the landmark Virtual Assets Act, which established the PVARA regulator, have put Pakistan among globally watched markets. India leads in on-chain volumes but is dragged down by a 30% tax and 1% TDS.

Japan's slump reflects the rigidity of its retail sector: just 52 merchants and taxation up to 45%. The Nordics have tech-literate populations with a high share of holders, but real-world use is held back by minimal merchant density (Sweden 15, Norway 27 merchants) and punitive tax rates.

Switzerland tops the index. It is not a story of a single spectacular number but of every pillar being solid at once: 690 merchants on BTC Map for a population of nine million, the highest verification rate of any large European network at 42%, roughly 150 crypto ATMs, and a tax code under which private capital gains are simply not taxable and spending crypto is not a disposal event. Nothing about the Swiss position changed in 2026 – the index changed.

Czechia ranks 6th globally and 3rd in the European Union, behind the Netherlands and Portugal, and first in Central Europe. BTC Map records 276 merchants and 76 ATMs, with 37% of listings verified within the last twelve months – 9.4 verified acceptance points per million people, third in the EU behind Slovakia and Bulgaria. The tax package is the real strength: since 15 February 2025, Act No. 32/2025 Sb. offers two alternative exemptions – a holding period of more than three years, capped at CZK 40 million of income, or annual gross proceeds of no more than CZK 100,000.

Nigeria and Argentina show the widest gap in the index between ownership and infrastructure. Argentina reports 18.8% ownership and Nigeria 19.1%, both near the top of the 43, while their physical networks score 1.1 and 0.3 respectively. Crypto – above all dollar stablecoins – functions as a parallel financial system rather than a payment rail, and the activity that results is peer-to-peer, not point-of-sale.

The global crypto-ATM network fell from about 39,158 machines at the end of 2025 to 27,945 by 8 July 2026. The United States accounted for 96% of the loss: Bitcoin Depot filed for Chapter 11 on 18 May 2026 and roughly 9,700 machines went dark, taking the US from 30,247 in March to about 20,005 in July. Canada has a nationwide ban proposal in front of it, and Australia lost 96 machines to an AUSTRAC suspension in August. For the first time since this index began, ATM density is a falling indicator almost everywhere.

Japan finishes 43rd. It has 73 merchants on BTC Map for 123 million people and two mapped ATMs, ownership of about 5%, and crypto gains taxed as miscellaneous income at an effective top rate near 55% once the 10% inhabitant tax and the 2.1% reconstruction surtax are included. Relief is legislated but distant: the FIEA reclassification was enacted on 15 July 2026 and a flat 20.315% rate is targeted for 1 January 2028, applying only to trades on licensed domestic venues.