The southern Swiss city of Lugano plans to have several local businesses accept some cryptocurrencies as “de facto” legal tender through a partnership with Tether.
Speaking at a Plan B event in the city on Thursday, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said the company has set up a CHF 3 million fund in collaboration with Lugano officials to encourage the use of Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and LVGA. symbol of shops and businesses. All over the city. Arduino said the project aims to attract talent from Lugano and make the city an important hub for blockchain technology in Europe.
“We want to show that these tools, these tools, these generated coins can really be used in a dynamic [locally controlled] environment like the city of Lugano,” said Arduino.
In addition to enabling residents of Lugano to pay taxes with cryptocurrencies, the project will expand payments to include parking tickets, utilities, and student fees. More than 200 stores and businesses in the region are also expected to accept payments in cryptocurrencies for goods and services.
Arduino referred to the work done by El Salvador’s legislators to implement cryptocurrencies. In September 2021, the Bitcoin Law came into force in the country, allowing all residents and visitors to use BTC as legal tender alongside the US dollar. The Swiss franc is still legal tender in Lugano and throughout Switzerland.
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As part of the partnership, Tether said it would create a fund of up to CHF 100 million to help fund blockchain-based startups in the region and create crypto unicorns, projects worth up to $1 billion. Polygon will also act as a stablecoin settlement infrastructure partner in Lugano.
With almost 63,000 inhabitants, Lugano is the eighth largest city in Switzerland and will host the World Bitcoin Forum in October.
