Lugano, Switzerland to accept Bitcoin as de facto legal tender

by Sarah Lax
· 2 minute read

What

The Swiss city, Lugano, plans to accept Bitcoin and Tether as de facto legal tender

Why

The country aims to create a cryptocurrency hub in Europe that utilises cryptocurrency in its financial sector 

What next

The country will roll out “Plan ₿” which aims to facilitate financial literacy and the adoption of cryptocurrency by creating a European epicentre for blockchain events and businesses  

The story

The city of Lugano, Switzerland has announced that it will be accepting Bitcoin, Tether and LVGA (the city’s own coin) as de facto legal tender. This was announced at the live-streamed event hosted on Thursday, 3 March 2022, by the city’s mayor ​​Michele Foletti, city director Pietro Poretti, and CTO of Tether Paolo Ardoino.

The trio unveiled “Lugano Plan ₿”, which details the Swiss city’s plan to become Europe’s Bitcoin capital. The initiative could be likened to El Salvador in its adoption of certain cryptocurrencies as legal tender and plans to integrate cryptocurrency into all areas of the financial sector. Ardoino explains that “with this Plan B we want to show that the tooling, the instruments that we’re creating can be actually put to work in a local, controlled, vibrant environment like the City of Lugano.” 

Here is a breakdown of what else “Lugano Plan ₿” includes:

  • An estimated $108.6 million in funding for the investment and relocation of blockchain start-ups in Lugano. 
  • Over $3.2 million in funding to support the adoption of cryptocurrency in Lugano.
  • The creation of a physical epicentre for events and workshops.  
  • Poretti’s “synergy with academia” which includes over 500 student grants for financial education about cryptocurrency and decentralised technology.
  • The plan to investigate and employ clean energy solutions for their mining. 

Lugano’s initiative is backed by Tether and has infrastructure partners like Polygon. Lugano will host the Bitcoin World Forum in late October of this year. 

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