Swiss City To Make Bitcoin a Legal Tender After Mexico and El Salvador

Key Insights:

• Using the three offered cryptocurrencies, people can pay taxes.
• More than 200 businesses and merchants will accept Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA.
• Just like Mexico, Lugano also cited El Salvador’s success as inspiration.

Adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador was a historic decision. The law opened the doors to a new currency and the future of digital finance.

El Salvador set an example of how a country can do things differently with Bitcoin. Following its steps, Switzerland’s Lugano is also doing the same. 

Bitcoin Becomes Legal, Once Again

The city of Lugano has developed plans on how it will integrate cryptocurrency into the city’s daily operations.

Making Bitcoin a legal tender will allow people to pay for government taxes and services in Bitcoin and make day-to-day transactions with stores.

As it is, over 200 businesses and merchants are already prepared for Bitcoin and lightning payments.

Making Bitcoin, Tether (USDT) legal tenders would be a defining moment for cryptocurrencies in Europe. One of the biggest reasons behind the success of this initiative would also be the current situation of Ukraine.

The war-stricken country has found significant support and aid in the form of cryptocurrencies flowing in from worldwide. More than $40 million has already been donated in crypto, and it serves as a testament to crypto’s potential.

Thus, European countries might find it easier to accept them and Lugano for its decision compared to El Salvador, which had to punch its way through to make Bitcoin a legal tender. 

In line with the announcement, the CTO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, said to the Bitcoin Magazine:

“This is probably the most important thing of this (Plan ₿) project. El Salvador’s GDP increased by 10% and its tourism by 30% after declaring bitcoin a legal tender. Imagine what we can do in a city at the center of Europe.”

To facilitate crypto transactions, the city also came up with their own CHF stablecoin called LVGA, the value of which will be 1/100th of a Swiss Franc.

In addition to this, Lugano has allotted over $100 million for blockchain startups that establish themselves in the city.

Up Next

Lugano might be on the verge of initiating the process of making Bitcoin a legal tender. Still, it’s certainly not the first to do so. It is not even the second.

After El Salvador, Mexico was the second country to discuss these plans citing El Salvador’s success.

Senator Indira Kempis announced that she would soon propose a crypto law to make cryptocurrencies a legal tender and spread awareness, education, and financial inclusion for the same.