Lugano, a city in Switzerland, is adopting cryptocurrency as a means for payment of taxes, goods, and services, as part of a new collaboration with the provider of the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. Citizens in the Italian-speaking province will be able to pay for public service fees and taxes with Bitcoin, according to city director Pietro Poretti, who co-announced the news alongside Mayor Michele Foletti and CTO of Tether Paolo Ardoino in a live-streamed event a few days ago. Over 200 merchants have already partnered with the city to promote bitcoin and Lightning payments.
Ardoino even tweeted about the same a few days ago. He shared a 15-second video that outlined “all the things that you can pay for within few months in the city”.
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Residents of Lugano will be able to transact, invest, and pay taxes using Bitcoin, USDT Tether, and LVGA token after these three cryptocurrencies were approved as “de facto” legal tender in the city.
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Watch the video here:
#lugano #planb announced #bitcoin #tether and #luga (CHF stablecoin) as legal tender.
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 3, 2022
Here are all the things that you can pay for within few months in the city.
???????????? pic.twitter.com/xkNA9Sp4Xw
Because it is tied to the US Dollar, the USDT Tether is a stablecoin, which means its value remains relatively stable in comparison to other cryptocurrencies. The LVGA token, which was created by the city itself, is the country's third cryptocurrency that has been recognised as de facto legal tender.
The collaboration between Lugano and Tether has been termed Lugano's ‘Plan B'. It intends to develop Lugano into a hub for blockchain adoption in Europe.
El Salvador has already recognised Bitcoin — the world's largest and oldest cryptocurrency — as legal tender. El Salvador's move in September 2021, when the country became the first to recognise a cryptocurrency as de-facto money, may have accelerated Lugano's decision. Lugano's new rule is very similar to El Salvador's. Lugano wants its businesses to be able to utilise cryptos for routine transactions without difficulty. In El Salvador, however, only Bitcoin is accepted as legal tender.
Over 500 students studying cryptocurrency and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) may also get scholarships from Lugano.
Lugano will also host the Bitcoin World Forum conference in October this year.
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