Cardano 's ADA Token is integrated into the Open Crypto Pay payment system, allowing customers at 137 Spar supermarkets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to scan QR codes directly from their native wallet.
Cardano has just reached a significant milestone in the retail payments sector: the ADA Token can now be used as a payment method at Spar supermarkets across Switzerland and Liechtenstein, after the blockchain completed its integration with the fiat currency and cryptocurrency exchange platform DFX.swiss.
Through the Open Crypto Pay standard developed by DFX.swiss, Cardano users can spend ADA directly from their native wallet at checkout counters by scanning a QR code, while stores still receive Swiss francs regardless of the type of cryptocurrency used by the customer. Previously, the platform supported Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoins USDC, USDT , and Dai.
Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, described this integration as the beginning of a fundamental shift in how value is circulated in society, and that the partnership with DFX.swiss is laying the groundwork for a financial ecosystem where ADA payments become as natural as card payments.
However, the actual coverage remains limited: according to the map on the platform's website, stores in Geneva, the capital Bern, and Davos – the host city of the World Economic Forum – have not yet implemented this payment system.
Switzerland leads in the adoption of cryptocurrencies, but the central bank remains cautious.
Spar's integration of ADA is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader picture of Switzerland's cryptocurrency environment. As of December 2025, approximately 350 businesses in the city of Lugano had accepted Bitcoin as a standard method of payment. A citizen-led initiative is also campaigning for amendments to the Swiss Constitution to allow the National Bank to include Bitcoin in its national reserves.
However, the country's monetary authorities have maintained a distinctly cautious stance. In April 2025, the President of the Swiss National Bank, Martin Schlegel, rejected the proposal, citing the volatile price of cryptocurrencies and concerns about market liquidation . According to him, cryptocurrencies currently do not meet the requirements for national monetary reserve assets.
A technical question remains surrounding this model: Open Crypto Pay currently does not implement a specific double-spend protection mechanism for traditional retailers. DFX.swiss explains that this is a theoretical problem with a low probability of occurrence due to its high technical complexity.
Nevertheless, expansion into large-scale retail environments will require increasingly higher standards of instant payment and settlement reliability – especially as the Cardano Foundation's ambition is to make ADA a means of everyday payment, not just a checkout experiment.
