Today’s Developments in the Crypto Market
Today in crypto, Spar shoppers in Zug, Switzerland, can now pay for their groceries in Bitcoin via the Lightning Network. Over 1,000 Swiss businesses have adopted Bitcoin payments, while a report from TRM Labs highlights an uptick in decentralized finance (DeFi) usage in Yemen amid US sanctions targeting the Houthi group. Additionally, US President Donald Trump has criticized the Federal Reserve Chair for delaying rate cuts.
Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments
Global grocery giant Spar has rolled out Bitcoin-based payments in a Swiss city, which marks another step in the growing adoption of cryptocurrency for everyday transactions. A Spar supermarket in Zug, Switzerland, has implemented Bitcoin (BTC) payments via the Lightning Network. The store’s Bitcoin payments were announced by DFX Swiss, a crypto-to-fiat payment solution firm.
“This SPAR location is among the first supermarkets in Switzerland where you can pay directly at the checkout using Bitcoin (via LNURL), thanks to our new #OpenCryptoPay solution, an open P2P standard for in-person crypto payments,” DFX said.
Switzerland has long been regarded as one of the more crypto-friendly European jurisdictions, with some of the earliest crypto-adoption initiatives. In 2023, the Swiss city of Lugano adopted Bitcoin and Tether USDt (USDT) payments for all municipal fees, one of the world’s first city administrations to do so.
Yemenis are turning to DeFi as US sanctions target Houthi group
Yemeni citizens are increasingly using decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to bank themselves amid US sanctions aimed at the Houthi group. DeFi platforms account for most of Yemen’s crypto-related web traffic, taking up over 63% of observed activity, while global centralized exchanges account for 18% of crypto-related web traffic, according to data from TRM Labs.
In the past, internet infrastructure challenges and low financial literacy among the war-torn population contributed to relatively limited crypto adoption. “However, there are signs of growing interest and usage driven primarily by necessity rather than speculation,” TRM Labs noted. “For those who use cryptocurrencies in Yemen, the ability to bypass the disruption in local financial services offers a modicum of financial resilience, especially as banks can be difficult to access or are simply inoperable due to the ongoing conflict.”
Trump blasts “too late” Powell for not cutting interest rates
US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of being too slow to cut interest rates, thereby escalating a long-running conflict that risks undermining the central bank’s political independence. With the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates again, “Too Late” Powell has failed to act appropriately in the United States, even with inflation falling, Trump stated on a social media platform.
“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump added. Florida Senator Rick Scott echoed the president’s sentiment, suggesting it’s time for new leadership at the Federal Reserve. Trump’s public criticism of the Fed breaks a decades-long convention in American politics intended to safeguard the central bank from political scrutiny, including any executive decision to replace the chair. In an address at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell reiterated that Fed independence is “a matter of law.” Powell has signaled his intent to serve out the remainder of his tenure, which expires in May 2026.
