Cardano news

Cardano’s ADA token can now be used for purchases at 137 Spar supermarkets across Switzerland. The payment option is enabled through a partnership with fiat on‑ and off‑ramp platform DFX.swiss, which uses the Open Crypto Pay standard to let users scan a QR code and pay directly from native wallets, with stores receiving Swiss franc settlement. Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard described the integration as the start of a shift toward everyday crypto use, likening ADA payments to card transactions. The rollout follows Spar’s earlier Bitcoin Lightning Network pilots and reflects Switzerland’s broader embrace of cryptocurrency payments.

Cardano’s ADA token is now accepted for grocery purchases at 137 Spar stores across Switzerland via Open Crypto Pay, which processes transactions in real time directly from wallets and cuts merchant fees by about two‑thirds compared to traditional cards. Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard said this signals a shift from experimental to genuine financial transformation. Spar previously introduced crypto and stablecoin payments in August 2025 for 100 stores using Binance Pay and DFX.swiss, with plans to expand to 300. Separately, Tether and the city of Lugano pledged 5 million Swiss francs to support the second phase of Lugano’s Plan B, aiming to make the city a global hub for digital‑asset infrastructure and allowing Bitcoin payments for some municipal fees.

Cardano’s Project Catalyst, the on‑chain grant program that has disbursed over $150 m to 2,200 projects, halted mid‑cycle as stewardship moves from IO G to the Cardano Foundation. Funds earmarked for Fund 15 ($18.5 m ADA + 250k USDM) and Fund 16 are being returned to the treasury, leaving hundreds of applicants and reviewers without a new voting schedule. Existing Fund 14 grantees will continue under milestone disbursements, but the pause signals a governance overhaul aimed at tighter oversight before new commitments.

Cardano saw a bullish divergence on its daily chart, prompting a 24% rally to $0.31 before a 17% pullback. On‑chain analysis revealed major whales dumped 2.15 billion ADA, worth roughly $540 million, during the rally, while retail buyers supplied volume that the Money Flow Index confirmed. The price remains below December lows, with the RSI still making higher lows, keeping the divergence setup alive. Key levels include a rejection at $0.31, a potential downside trigger at $0.26 and $0.23, and lower targets at $0.21. Future upside depends on whales re‑accumulating, which would signal a stronger reversal.

CME Group launched Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures, now covering over 75 % of the global crypto market cap. In 2025 the average daily open interest in CME’s crypto suite hit nearly $25 billion, with an average daily volume of 278,300 contracts – roughly $12 billion notional. The exchange added major altcoins to broaden risk‑return profiles, noting moderate to high correlations with Bitcoin and highlighting diversification benefits.

Coinbase has broadened its crypto-backed lending service to include XRP, Cardano's ADA, and Litecoin, letting U.S. users borrow up to $100,000 in USDC without selling their holdings. The loans, routed through on-chain protocol Morpho, use wrapped tokens as collateral. The move taps into $17.2 billion of XRP held by customers and offers a tax-efficient liquidity option, though rapid price drops could trigger liquidations. Coinbase adds safety buffers and alerts to mitigate risk.

Coinbase has expanded its onchain loan product offered via Morpho to include XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA) and Litecoin (LTC) as collateral, allowing eligible U.S. customers—excluding those in New York—to borrow up to $100,000 in USDC without selling their holdings. The existing service already supports Bitcoin and Ethereum, with loan limits of $5 million and $1 million, respectively. Loans have no fixed repayment schedule, variable interest rates set by Morpho’s supply‑and‑demand dynamics, and LTV thresholds of 75% (BTC/ETH) and 49% (XRP/DOGE/ADA/LTC). Borrowers incur a one‑time fee per borrowing event. The platform is currently limited to verified U.S. users, with broader international access planned.

Cysic founder Leo Fan criticized Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson for planning to use Google Cloud and Azure in his privacy project Midnight, saying it undermines decentralization. Hoskinson argued the base chain stays decentralized and that hyperscalers only provide neutral compute; Midnight will launch its mainnet in March with 10 federated nodes and Google Cloud support. Fan proposes a hybrid model, limiting big‑vendor use and combining it with decentralized compute networks like Cysic’s, noting it can speed ZK proof generation.

Cardano aims to launch USDCx, a Circle-backed stablecoin variant, on its blockchain by end-February, announced by Anastasia Labs CEO Philip DiSaro. USDCx will function like native USDC for retail users and DeFi transactions, though institutional redemption differs. The launch addresses Cardano’s historic liquidity shortfall—under $40 million in stablecoins versus rivals' billions—and complements efforts to integrate LayerZero for cross-chain interoperability. Despite the upgrade, ADA’s price remains below $0.30, reflecting broader market skepticism.

Cardano has announced an integration with LayerZero, the cross‑chain messaging system that connects over 160 blockchains. The move unlocks direct access to more than 400 OFT tokens, which together have a market cap of around $80 billion. While the connectivity is a technical win, liquidity will not appear automatically. Cardano must deploy LayerZero endpoints, grow stable‑coin balances, and lift its current ~$125 million TVL and $2 million DEX volume for the partnership to translate into real DeFi activity.