Q1: Forming the urble Association
The first quarter of the year was about laying foundations.
We officially launched the urble Association, a group of early contributors united by a shared belief:
self-custodial savings are a cornerstone of sustainable finance and financial freedom.
Six delegates came together – Joana, Michelle, Fredi, Vittorio, Christian, and Ralph – to shape not just a product vision, but a long-term mission.
Together, we formalized the Articles of Association, with the purpose of:
- promoting collaborative development of self-custodial savings solutions
- advancing smart-contract-based financial technologies
- supporting transparency, security, and sustainable innovation
- creating a community for knowledge exchange around saving and investing with digital assets
This was not about speed. It was about direction, stewardship, and a foundation strong enough to last.
What this unlocked: a long-term governance structure and a mission-driven framework that supports urble beyond a typical startup timeline.
Q2: From Vision to a First Tangible Product
While Brick Towers was deeply engaged in building the technical foundation of urble, the second quarter brought a major milestone: the first demoable MVP.
For the first time, urble was no longer just an idea. It was something people could see, feel, and understand.
That demo created visibility, credibility, and clarity – both internally and externally – about what we mean when we talk about the future of savings.
Shortly after, we launched the urble waitlist. Within just a few weeks, more than 300 people signed up, validating that the problem we are solving resonates far beyond our immediate circle.
What this unlocked: early traction, feedback loops, and proof that people want a savings experience that combines self-custody with simplicity and long-term thinking.
Learning, Feedback, and Acceleration
Another key milestone in the second quarter was Brick Towers being selected for the CV Labs Cardano Accelerator Program.
urble was chosen because of team experience, the clarity and depth of its approach: long-term savings built on self-custody, smart contracts, and real-world usability, not short-term crypto narratives.
Being part of the accelerator was a strong signal that urble is not just a product idea, but a structurally sound foundation for the next generation of savings solutions.
The program gave us the space and challenge to sharpen urble at a strategic level. Through close exchange with experienced founders and investors, we made deliberate decisions about what urble should focus on building and what urble should consciously not become.
We shared a recap here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7361285359525150721
What this unlocked: sharper priorities, a stronger go-to-market strategy, and a significant extension of our network to builders, investors and partners.
Q3: Research, Credibility, and Real-World Validation
In the third quarter, we went deeper.
Together with ZHAW, we completed a formal study on urble, financed by an Innosuisse Innovation Cheque, exploring how a modular, institutional approach can position urble as a future middleware layer for scalable savings solutions built on blockchain, self-custody, and smart contracts.
This step grounded our vision academically and structurally – showing that urble is not just an app, but a system that can integrate with future financial infrastructure. We shared highlights from the study here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7376889093814734849
What this unlocked: academic validation and a stronger institutional framing for future partnerships and integrations.
From Online Collaboration to Real-Life Connection
Shortly after, one of the most exciting moments of the year took place.
The Brick Towers team and urble delegates met in person at the CV Summit in Zurich – Switzerland\'s largest blockchain, AI, and digital assets event.
For many of us, it was the first time meeting face-to-face after months of remote collaboration. Ideas turned into conversations. Messages turned into shared meals. What had already been a strong distributed collaboration turned into a true powerhouse.
We captured the moment here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7376889093814734849
What this unlocked: strong bonds, good vibes and a lot of fun.
Knowledge Sharing: Launching the urble Blog
Around the same time, we launched the urble blog, a growing knowledge hub covering product development, security, Web3 know-how, and deeper thinking around long-term savings, with contributions from all urble delegates.
What this unlocked: a consistent place to share our values, philosophy, and approach openly with the community.
Q4: Visibility Across Europe
The final quarter brought momentum and visibility.
urble was pitched and demoed at several leading industry events, including:
- Plan ₿ Forum in Lugano
- European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona
- Cardano Summit in Berlin
- SICTIC Swiss Fintech & AI Investor Day at UBS Zurich
These appearances led to higher visibility, meaningful follow-up conversations, and growing recognition of urble as a serious long-term savings project, not a short-lived crypto experiment.
What this unlocked: a pipeline of partnerships in discussion and increased credibility with long-term stakeholders.
A Major Milestone: Winning the Midnight Hackathon
One of the defining moments of the year came when Brick Towers won the Midnight Summit Hackathon in London in November, competing against 48 teams from around the world.
The winning use case focused on zero-knowledge proofs within urble, positioning the project as a leading solution for rational privacy and selective disclosure on Midnight once mainnet launches.
This was a strong external signal that our approach – privacy-preserving, user-centric, and institution-compatible – is not only needed, but recognised.
Watch the moment here:
What this unlocked: external proof that urble\'s approach to privacy and security is both relevant and future-ready.
From Demo to Reality: The First urble App Users
In parallel, we reached another key milestone.
The first version of the urble app was launched in app stores, followed by a soft launch with 50 Genesis users.
This group provided invaluable early feedback, helping us refine flows, language, and assumptions before broader public release.
We complemented this with several live demos involving more than 100 participants, creating space for direct dialogue and learning – not just presentation.
One demo recap is available here:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ralph-hofacker_last-friday-we-hosted-the-first-exclusive-activity-7393933439244320768-LkbFWhat this unlocked: real-world usage insights, higher confidence in product direction, and a stronger readiness for scale.
Conversations That Matter, Beyond Conferences
Not all progress happens on big stages.
In November and December, we deliberately created small, curated spaces for dialogue with investors in Germany – including in Schwäbisch Hall, Stuttgart, and Crailsheim – together with Elke and Volker from Money & Macchiato.
These sessions focused on education, dialogue, and understanding:
- What does self-custody really mean?
- Why does it matter for sustainable long-term savings?
- How do blockchains provide the foundational infrastructure for the future to reap such benefits?
The outcome was not hype, but commitment – and a shared sense that 2026 can be a breakthrough year.
What this unlocked: trust-based investor relationships and greater clarity around what drives real adoption.
Looking Ahead 2026, Why This Matters
urble is still early.
But this year showed something important: There is a growing group of people who want money to be:
- self-custodied,
- transparent,
- social,
- private where it matters,
- and designed for real life over decades.
Everything we built this year – the association, the MVP, the research, the demos, the community – is groundwork.
2026 is about turning this foundation into impact. We already have the roadmap for public launch, go-to-market activities, and accompanying launch events in place – with the goal of welcoming our first 1,000 users as the next step toward validation and product-market fit.
Thank you to everyone who contributed, challenged, supported, and believed. We are just getting started.
Want to be part of the journey? Download the urble app and start today with the future of saving with urble.
