The city of Lugano, the economic capital of Italian-speaking southern Switzerland, is adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments as part of a new collaboration with stablecoin provider Tether (USDT).
The city of Lugano in southern Switzerland plans to have many local businesses accept some cryptocurrencies as “de facto” legal tender as part of a partnership with Tether.
In fact, the Lugano and Tether Operations Limited, the issuing company of the stablecoin USDT, today signed a partnership to develop actions linked to Blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the city. Among them, that citizens and companies can pay taxes or any good and service with cryptocurrencies. Such partnership, the note indicates, makes Lugano one of the first places in the world to implement a full cryptocurrency payment economy. The main difference with El Salvador is that the Central American country declared Bitcoin legal tender.
In this regard, both announced the upgrade, dubbed “Lugano Plan B”, in a live broadcast on Thursday before Tether posted a tweet. Citizens and businesses in Lugano will be able to use Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA to pay for all goods, services, and taxes “in the near future,” a press release confirmed. When citizens use crypto assets as currency, the funds will become local fiat through a third-party intermediary.
Speaking at the city’s Plan B event, Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino stated that, “We want to show that these tools, these instruments, these currencies that were created can really be put to work in a vibrant [locally controlled] environment like the city of Lugano.”
Lugano Plan B will see the city and Tether collaborate in hopes of making Lugano a hub for blockchain adoption in Europe. Through the partnership, Lugano and Tether hope to demonstrate the real utility of blockchain within the local community. The press release said that the collaboration would mark the “first large-scale urban use case” of Tether.
The Swiss city is also focusing on helping businesses integrate payment solutions for stablecoins, and plans to leverage Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Lightning network for scalability. Lugano and Tether have also committed to various other initiatives, including the creation of a blockchain business hub and a fund for startups. Additionally, Lugano plans to use green energy for Bitcoin mining.
Lugano, Tether and Cryptocurrencies
The agreement between Lugano and the company Tether also includes the opening of a center of excellence for Blockchain adoption in Europe. Said center will house companies and act as a catalyst for everything related to the Blockchain, in order to facilitate their daily operations. The objective of the collaboration, the statement indicates, is to demonstrate the real use of Blockchain technologies, applying them in a practical way among the population of Lugano. The city, which has 64,000 inhabitants, is the third financial center of Switzerland. The town, where Italian is the main language and enjoys a high standard of living, wants to become the place of reference for the global crypto community. In other words, the place where you can grow and prosper.
Tether also reports that it will lead the creation of a multi-million dollar fund to help finance new Blockchain-based companies focused on creating services with this technology in the region. The company will lead this fund together with a group of prominent players in the crypto industry. The USDT developer is also committed to educating new generations, through collaborations with local universities and research institutes. To achieve this, it will launch 500 scholarships in the immediate future.
Bitcoin Green Mining
The city will also host other innovative initiatives, such as the Lugano Living Lab, a platform designed to encourage innovation, in order to improve the quality of life of citizens and the attractiveness of the region. Tether indicates that the ecosystem of the city allows working hand in hand to develop the first large-scale urban use case.
According to Tether, the initiative will also serve as a green financing model, promoting Bitcoin mining through environmentally friendly alternatives. For now, Lugano will start working with Tether and other service providers to help local businesses integrate their existing payment services with permitted stablecoins. Lightning Network, the statement indicates, will be one of the solutions that the city, with the support of Tether, will integrate into the services.
A More Open City
Regarding the agreement, Michele Foletti, mayor of Lugano, has asserted that the city is investing in its future. “In recent years, we have implemented Blockchain-based solutions, such as the MyLugano app and its LVGA points payment token. The digital franc of Lugano and the 3Achain infrastructure. We strongly believe in this technology and our collaboration with Tether will contribute to the creation of a better, more open, transparent, and intelligent city”, said Foletti.
Furthermore, Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether, pointed out that Lugano is a vibrant city, full of innovators and future thinkers. “As the world’s largest stablecoin, we envision a future where all businesses, large and small, can leverage Blockchain platforms to improve the quality of life for citizens by providing more sustainable, transparent, and reliable financial and everyday services. . We hope that Lugano will become a model for global adoption,” Ardoino said.
While Lugano is the first Swiss city to announce that it will use crypto assets as legal tender, it is not the first place in the world where crypto becomes a kind of currency.
As an example, let us recall that El Salvador made history when it officially recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021. Since then, the country’s crypto adoption has faced intense criticism from Salvadoran citizens and officials. In this regard, it is worth following how the users will receive the Lugano crypto move.
By Audy Castaneda
