Cardano’s ADA token can now be used to purchase grocery items at 137 Spar Supermarkets across Switzerland. The rollout represents one of the largest retail examples of Cardano being used for real-world commerce.
On Thursday, March 5, Open Crypto Pay, a new payment platform created by DFX.swiss announced that it would allow users to make direct purchases using their ADA wallets at participating retailers. The Cardano Foundation confirmed the development.
It added that this allows for real-time processing and confirmation of each transaction. Also, it eliminates the need for merchants to send transactions through a central exchange.
With ADA-based transactions, as opposed to traditional credit card or bank wire, users will save money on merchant transaction fees. They may save approximately 66% of what they would have paid if they were paying via traditional credit cards or bank wire.
CEO Frederik Gregaard of the Cardano Foundation described this new payment system as an indicator of an emerging trend in using blockchain-based payment systems. “This is the beginning of a fundamental shift in how value moves through society,” he said.
Additionally, he said that the new payment system indicates a growing trend. Blockchain technology is moving from being an experimental form of financial infrastructure to a functional and operational form.
Spar is expanding upon the existing efforts by Switzerland authorities to make the country a hub for innovative opportunities in digital assets and blockchain technologies. The firm had also introduced the ability to make payments using stablecoins at 100 of its Swiss stores through partnerships with DFX.swiss and Binance Pay.
Spar had previously indicated a desire to increase the number of stores that would accept cryptocurrency payments to 300 throughout Switzerland. Over the past few years, Switzerland has established itself as a leader in the use of blockchain technology in financial services.
For example, the city of Lugano recently began allowing residents to use Bitcoin and USDT to pay for some municipal fees. In addition, Tether and the government of Lugano have agreed to provide funding for the Plan B initiative. This seeks to solidify Lugano’s status as a leading global digital asset hub.
Also Read | Cardano (ADA) Holds Support Above $0.245 – Is $0.538 Within Reach?
The Cardano token had reacted mildly to Spar’s decision to accept ADA payments. At the time of writing, Cardano was trading around $0.27 per TradingView. The cryptocurrency is still stuck in a trading range after multiple months of decline.
On the 4-hour chart, Cardano appears to still be in a long-term downtrend since the price remains below the major moving averages. There is significant short-term resistance provided by the 50-period exponential moving average (EMA) near $0.274.
There is also the longer-term resistance in the form of the 200-period EMA near $0.288. The relative strength index is currently at approximately 44 and indicates neither strongly bullish nor bearish momentum. The MACD is also slightly negative, indicating that there is no indication of bearish momentum reversing.
Source: TradingView
If ADA is able to break over the $0.274-$0.288 range, it could potentially lead to a recovery towards $0.30. If ADA fails to remain above the $0.26 level, it could lead to another round of liquidation towards the $0.24 area.
Spar’s rollout of the “Open Crypto Pay” system represents the growing transition from pilot projects to mainstream retail commerce for blockchain-based payment systems.
Also Read | Cardano (ADA) Targets $0.34 as March Stabilization Builds Recovery Momentum
