Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) users can now pay for groceries at Spar stores in 137 locations across Switzerland, following a new Open Crypto Pay integration from Swiss fintech DFX.swiss, announced this Thursday by the Cardano Foundation. The arrangement allows real-time processing and direct wallet-to-wallet settlements for ADA payments, avoiding routing through centralized exchanges. For merchants, the system promises a significant reduction in processing costs—about two-thirds lower than traditional card networks—marking a practical step in Switzerland’s broader exploration of crypto-friendly retail infrastructure. The rollout adds to Spar’s evolving strategy to mix everyday shopping with digital asset conveniences as the country presses ahead with its hub ambitions.

In a broader sense, the move underscores Switzerland’s ambition to become a global hub for crypto and blockchain activity, moving beyond experimental trials toward widespread financial use cases. Open Crypto Pay’s architecture is designed to keep value transfers on-chain between ADA wallets, minimizing friction for consumers and merchants alike. The Cardano Foundation highlighted the initiative as a meaningful milestone in the ongoing maturation of the crypto sector, framing it as a shift in how value moves through society rather than a standalone pilot.

Executives at Spar have signaled that the integration builds on an earlier sweep of crypto payments. In August 2025, Spar rolled out nationwide crypto and stablecoin payments across 100 stores through partnerships with Binance Pay and DFX.swiss, with an objective to scale to about 300 stores. The latest expansion to 137 locations represents a continuation of that program, leveraging ADA and the broader Swiss crypto ecosystem to facilitate practical, everyday use of digital assets at the point of sale. Cardano’s presence in retail is not merely symbolic; it is designed to demonstrate real-time settlement and customer usability in a familiar shopping context.

Cardano Foundation Chief Executive Frederik Gregaard described the milestone as the “beginning of a fundamental shift in how value moves through society,” signaling a transition from experiments to genuine financial transformation. The aspirational framing reflects a broader narrative in which blockchain networks step out of early-stage pilots and into mainstream commerce, with merchants and customers sharing a common, largely seamless digital payment experience. The Cardano Foundation’s social post (via its official X account) underscored the collaboration as a proof point for real-world utility rather than a theoretical construct.

From a technical standpoint, the Open Crypto Pay integration is engineered to process transactions in real time and to enable payments directly from ADA wallets. That direct wallet-to-wallet flow helps avoid routing through centralized exchanges, which in turn can reduce liquidity constraints and settlement times for merchants. The cost advantage cited by Spar—roughly two-thirds lower transaction costs compared with traditional card schemes—could incentivize additional retailers to explore crypto rails as a cost-control measure while expanding consumer options for crypto payments in everyday shopping contexts.

Beyond Spar’s retail commitments, Switzerland’s crypto ambitions dovetail with broader regional momentum. Lugano, a city often cited as a pioneer in integrating digital assets into municipal life, is receiving new support from Tether. On Tuesday, Tether and the city announced a CHF 5 million ($6.4 million) commitment to a second phase of Lugano’s Plan B forum, set to run from 2026 through 2030. The aim is to position Lugano as a global hub for digital asset infrastructure, with ongoing projects focused on policy, infrastructure, and use-case deployments that blend fiat currency with digital assets in public services and commerce.

That momentum is complemented by Lugano’s existing experiments with asset-native payments. Residents can already pay certain municipal fees in Bitcoin (BTC) and USDt (USDT), an approach that integrates digital assets into local governance and services in a tangible way. The town’s efforts are part of a broader Swiss trend toward regulatory clarity and practical usage scenarios for crypto, which includes ongoing discussions about tax information sharing and compliance timelines in the country. The Swiss crypto tax landscape has evolved in recent years, and policy developments continue to influence how institutions and municipalities approach digital assets in everyday life.

Taken together, the Spar ADA rollout and Lugano’s Plan B initiative illustrate how Switzerland is attempting to bridge high-profile blockchain research with concrete commercial and civic applications. The Cardano Foundation’s involvement in Spar’s rollout signals a push to test not just the acceptance of ADA as a payments instrument but also the viability of a broader, open-pay ecosystem that prioritizes on-chain settlement, user control of funds, and cost efficiencies for merchants. If successful, this model could serve as a template for other retailers and municipalities seeking to blend digital assets with real-world value transfer in a regulated, consumer-friendly manner.

Why it matters

Retail adoption of crypto rails in Switzerland highlights a growing appetite among merchants to diversify payment methods beyond traditional card networks. By enabling ADA payments at Spar, the case demonstrates that digital assets can provide tangible benefits—faster settlements, lower fees, and greater control over funds—without sacrificing convenience for shoppers. The direct wallet-to-wallet approach reduces exposure to centralized custodians, potentially improving transparency and security in everyday transactions.

For the Cardano ecosystem, the Spar collaboration provides a real-world reference point for ADA’s utility beyond speculation. The emphasis on real-time processing and on-chain settlement aligns with Cardano’s broader mission of delivering scalable, sustainable blockchain solutions for mainstream use. As regulatory clarity improves and user experience grows more seamless, ADA and other digital assets could increasingly appear in ordinary retail environments, expanding the repertoire of payment choices available to consumers and businesses alike.

From a macro perspective, Switzerland’s ongoing crypto strategy—coupled with Lugano’s municipal experiments—suggests a broader trend toward integrating digital assets into public life. The Lugano funding, alongside ongoing tax and regulatory discussions, underscores a coordinated approach to creating ecosystems that can attract investment, talent, and technology providers while maintaining consumer protections and compliance. If such initiatives gain traction, they could influence how other European cities and regions design their own crypto-friendly frameworks, potentially shaping liquidity flows, user adoption curves, and the pace at which retailers are willing to experiment with digital payments.

What to watch next

• Spare expansion plans: Will Spar scale ADA acceptance from 137 stores toward the previously stated target of 300 locations?
• Regulatory developments in Switzerland: How will tax information-sharing timelines and disclosure rules evolve, and what impact might that have on crypto retail pilots?
• Lugano’s Plan B progress: What concrete milestones arise in Phase II (2026–2030), and how will they shape infrastructure for digital assets in public services?
• Additional retail partners: Which other Swiss retailers or European merchants might adopt Open Crypto Pay or similar wallets-first rails?

Sources & verification

• Official Cardano Foundation announcement and Cardano Foundation blog post detailing ADA acceptance at Spar Switzerland.
• DFX.swiss press materials describing the Open Crypto Pay integration and real-time wallet-to-wallet settlement.
• Spar’s August 2025 rollout of crypto and stablecoin payments across 100 stores via Binance Pay and DFX.swiss, with expansion plans to 300 stores.
• Tether and Lugano Plan B forum funding announcement for CHF 5 million to advance Lugano’s digital asset infrastructure program.
• Public statements on Lugano’s acceptance of BTC and USDT for municipal payments and related coverage of Switzerland’s crypto regulatory developments.

Key figures and next steps

Market reaction and key details

The Swiss initiative continues to attract attention as a testbed for mainstream crypto payments, with Cardano positioning itself as a practical vehicle for real-world value transfer. If the real-time, wallet-based payment model proves scalable and cost-effective, it may encourage broader merchant adoption across retailers and municipal services in Switzerland and beyond.

Why it matters

For users and investors, the expansion of ADA into everyday shopping environments underscores ADA’s potential as a usable digital asset rather than a speculative instrument. For builders and developers, the emphasis on on-chain settlement and merchant economics points to design principles that prioritize user experience and cost efficiency. For policymakers, the evolving landscape offers concrete data points on how digital assets can integrate with regulatory frameworks and public services while maintaining consumer protections.

Tickers mentioned: $ADA, $BTC, $USDT

Sentiment: Neutral

Market context: The push to embed crypto payments in retail and municipal services reflects a wider trend toward asset-native finance and on-chain settlement, compatible with regulatory progress and institutional interest in crypto infrastructure.

What to watch next

• Expansion milestones for Spar’s ADA payments and any new store openings or regional rollouts.
• Regulatory updates on Swiss tax information sharing and compliance requirements for crypto pilots.
• Progress on Lugano’s Plan B Phase II initiatives and how they influence regional crypto ecosystems.

Sources & verification

• Cardano Foundation announcement regarding ADA acceptance at Spar Switzerland.
• DFX.swiss Open Crypto Pay integration details and real-time settlement capabilities.
• Spar’s 2025 rollout news and store expansion plans.
• Tether and Lugano Plan B funding announcement for CHF 5 million.
• Reports on Lugano accepting BTC and USDT for municipal payments and Switzerland’s crypto tax discussions.

Retail rails for ADA in Swiss supermarkets signal broader crypto hub ambitions

Switzerland’s ongoing experimentation with crypto payments at the point of sale is moving beyond isolated pilots toward broader retail adoption. Spar’s 137-store ADA payments rollout, enabled by Open Crypto Pay and anchored by the Cardano Foundation, exemplifies a practical pathway for mainstreaming digital assets in everyday commerce. By delivering real-time settlement and wallet-to-wallet transactions, the initiative reduces dependence on centralized exchanges and cuts transaction costs for merchants—a meaningful consideration as retailers weigh new payment rails in a cost-conscious environment.

The collaboration also ties into Lugano’s broader strategy to become a global hub for digital asset infrastructure, reinforced by a CHF 5 million commitment from Tether to support the Plan B program through 2030. That funding, paired with Lugano’s existing acceptance of BTC and USDT for municipal duties, signals a coordinated effort to blend public governance with cutting-edge payment rails. If these pilots prove sustainable, they could catalyze similar initiatives across Switzerland and the broader European region, encouraging more retailers to pilot crypto-friendly checkout flows and more cities to explore asset-backed services in daily life.

The first phase of bitcoin’s BTC$72,439.96 recent drawdown has not triggered panic among institutional investors, according to crypto asset management firm CoinShares.

Professional allocators reduced exposure modestly but largely maintained their positions compared with last year. Advisors trimmed holdings while hedge funds scaled back alongside the broader leverage unwind and shifting opportunities in other markets, the crypto investment manager said in a Tuesday report.

Longer-duration investors kept accumulating. “Endowments, pensions, and sovereigns continued to build quietly,” wrote analyst Matt Kimmell.

Bitcoin has struggled to regain momentum since hitting a record high near $125,000 in early October. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading around $72,370 at publication time.

Crypto markets have delivered muted performance in recent months as a mix of macro and market-specific pressures weighed on prices. Higher interest rates and a stronger dollar have dampened appetite for risk assets, while leveraged positions built earlier in the rally have been unwound. At the same time, profit-taking from long-term bitcoin holders and uneven flows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have limited momentum, leaving the sector struggling to regain a sustained upward trend.

Despite bitcoin falling about 23% during the period, global bitcoin ETF flows remained positive, suggesting the sell-off in the fourth quarter was driven more by long-time holders taking profits than by new institutional money exiting the market, Kimmell said.

Historically, crypto bear markets have redistributed supply from short-term traders to long-term holders. According to Kimmell, the emergence of ETFs now offers a new way to observe whether institutional capital follows the same pattern.

So far, the data points in that direction. A roughly 25% quarterly drawdown did not trigger broad institutional capitulation, the report said, with most declines in assets under management reflecting price moves rather than large investor outflows.

Still, CoinShares cautioned that the sample size remains small. The firm said the real test may appear in upcoming regulatory filings, which will capture institutional behavior during sharper moves, including bitcoin’s slide toward $60,000 and a single-day 17% drop.

Bitcoin and the broader crypto market moved higher this week, rebounding after weeks of choppy trading. The rally was driven in part by renewed risk appetite across markets and steady demand for bitcoin ETFs, helping the largest cryptocurrency regain momentum and lift major altcoins alongside it. Traders also pointed to short covering and positioning resets following the recent sell-off as factors behind the move.

Read more: CEO of crypto investment firm Keyrock says bitcoin is undervalued, entering ‘transition year’

TLDR:

• Revolut has filed for a US bank charter with the OCC and FDIC to offer full banking services in America. 
• Former Visa executive Cetin Duransoy has been named Revolut’s new CEO for United States operations. 
• Revolut plans to invest $500 million in the US over three to five years covering capital, marketing, and hiring. 
• Revolut’s global valuation reached $75 billion following a secondary share sale completed in November 2024.

Revolut has officially filed for a U.S. bank charter, marking a major move into the American financial market. The British fintech giant also named former Visa executive Cetin Duransoy as its new United States CEO.

With around 70 million clients across 40 markets, Revolut is targeting the U.S. as a core part of its global expansion.

The applications have been submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for review.

Revolut Eyes US Banking Approval to Expand Financial Services

If regulators approve the applications, Revolut plans to gather deposits and issue loans in the U.S. The company also intends to offer credit cards and facilitate payments for American customers.

This would represent a full-scale banking operation, moving beyond its current limited U.S. presence. Revolut currently serves American users primarily through payment and foreign exchange services.

Revolut founder and CEO Nik Storonsky made the company’s intentions clear in a recent statement. “The United States is a key pillar of our global growth strategy,” Storonsky said.

He added that a stronger U.S. presence is necessary to reach 100 million global customers. The company is expected to invest $500 million in the U.S. over the next three to five years.

That $500 million figure covers bank capital, marketing, and new hiring across the country. Outgoing U.S. CEO Sid Jajodia confirmed the investment scope in a recent interview.

Jajodia will transition into a global chief banking officer role as Duransoy steps in. Duransoy’s background at Visa brings strong financial industry experience to Revolut’s U.S. operations.

Revolut’s strategy involves attracting users first as a secondary bank account. Services like payments and foreign exchange act as entry points for new customers.

Over time, the company woos users with perks and subscription-based offerings. This model has already proven effective across Europe and other international markets.

Revolut’s US Push Comes Amid Growing Neobank Competition

Revolut is not alone in pursuing a U.S. banking license among global neobanks. Brazil’s Nubank is currently awaiting full approval for its own U.S. banking license.

Spain’s Santander launched a digital bank in the U.S. in 2024 and recently announced an acquisition. These moves show that international digital banks are actively competing for U.S. customers.

To raise brand awareness in the U.S., Revolut plans to pursue sponsorship opportunities. The company already sponsors the Audi Formula 1 team, soccer clubs, and music festivals globally.

Similar partnerships in the U.S. could help boost its visibility among American consumers. Marketing investment is built into the $500 million U.S. spending plan.

On the topic of a potential IPO, Jajodia declined to comment on any timeline. He noted that private market capital remains available and accessible for the company.

Revolut completed a secondary share sale in November, valuing the company at $75 billion. That valuation places Revolut among the most valuable private fintech companies in the world.

Revolut’s U.K. bank continues to operate under some restrictions during a mobilization phase. The restrictions are tied to the bank’s size as it scales its operations.

However, the company appears focused on moving forward with its international growth plans. The U.S. charter application is the clearest sign yet of that ambition.

This Thursday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail.

Ethereum (ETH)

With $2,000 support secured, Ethereum has a good shot at testing the $2,400 resistance in the near future. This also allowed the price to close the week with a 2% gain.

The current PA shows a clear reversal pattern, with a bullish engulfing candle indicating buyers are back in control. To secure their dominance, they will need to break above $2,400 as well.

Looking ahead, the most important resistance on the chart is found at $2,800. Thus, bulls may be able to keep Ethereum in a rally until then. Once there, sellers could return in force.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP turned bullish this week and reclaimed the $1.4 support level. While the price fell by a modest 2% compared to last week, the recent buying spree sends a strong bullish signal to market participants.

The most important resistance point is at $1.6, which will need to become support if buyers want to keep XRP in a sustained uptrend. Any weakness there will quickly be exploited by sellers.

Looking ahead, after a prolonged downtrend, this cryptocurrency is finally giving signs that the selloff may be behind us and a recovery is likely.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano had a difficult start this week, falling by 7%. Buyers tried multiple times to reclaim the support at 28 cents, but each time they were rejected, including this week. This is a sign of weakness.

As long as ADA keeps failing to move above 28 cents, it is unlikely for any bullish momentum to form. Should selling intensify, the price may fall to 24 cents again, as it did earlier this year.

Looking ahead, this cryptocurrency is in a tough spot. While most altcoins are giving signs of a reversal, Cardano still lags behind its peers. Hopefully, this will change soon and push the price back into an uptrend.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin moved higher by 4% this week after buyers defended the $580 support well. Their current target is the resistance at $690, which may be challenging to break through, given the previous price action.

Even if sellers attempt to defend the current resistance, bullish momentum is intensifying and may be enough to drive a quick relief rally towards $900.

Looking ahead, BNB has a clear shot at a rally in the weeks to come, considering that since late 2025, the price has been in a downtrend. A sustained rally appears likely and may be quite significant.

Hype (HYPE)

HYPE closed the week 12% higher and reclaimed a price above the key $30 support. As long as the price holds above this level, the bulls have the upper hand, and they may aim to break the resistance at $36 next.

While the momentum is bullish, there is a bit of lag since the price moved above $30. This should not last long since it would encourage sellers to return and put pressure on that support again.

Looking ahead, HYPE needs to break the $36 resistance to maintain a bullish bias in the coming weeks. Hopefully, buying volume will increase to sustain the current move into higher highs.