{"id":633,"date":"2022-03-12T15:23:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T15:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/?p=633"},"modified":"2022-03-12T15:23:53","modified_gmt":"2022-03-12T15:23:53","slug":"luganos-plan-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>tl;dr Summary:<\/em> <\/strong><em>The Swiss City of Lugano has announced ambitious plans to become a major European blockchain hub, with Bitcoin and USDT to be accepted as legal tender. The announcement was made in conjunction with Tether Operations Limited, and continues a growing trend of mainstream crypto adoption worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Swiss City of Lugano has announced plans to accept BTC and USDT as legal tender. Mayor Michele Foretti revealed the news at the city\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019 event on Thursday. The event was hosted in partnership with Tether Operations Limited, issuer of the $USDT stablecoin. A picturesque lakeside town at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Lugano acts as the economic capital of southern Switzerland. It is the ninth-largest city in Switzerland, with a population of 62,000. The announcement came as part of a host of crypto-friendly proposals, with the city aiming to become a major European blockchain hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/s5zsDuP07bUefG89r2fAoCFG5X4br5Wzz3TWUvcvbl3Gi7l2EgK7XQVOzYyYGR9wC73pvHO6lryWTNCKVZtnOoTEtl9xG_Iyeo8cZEx-zR_xNsaWAoTQF2e39VQNbTS8d28ocSvl\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"524\"\/><figcaption>The bay of Lugano at sunset \u2013 taken from https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lugano#\/media\/File:Lago_di_Lugano_at_Sunset_(cropped).jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not Lugano\u2019s first venture into the crypto space. Last year the city implemented its own EVM-compatible blockchain called 3Achain, complete with digital wallet, as well launching the \u2018LVGA\u2019 stablecoin. LVGA is pegged to one-hundredth of a Swiss franc, and residents are currently able to earn rewards in the token for participating in city loyalty schemes. As part of the \u2018Plan B\u2019 announcement, LVGA will also be accepted as legal tender across the city alongside $BTC and $USDT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lugano is not the only area in Switzerland to announce pro-crypto regulation, with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2021\/02\/18\/switzerlands-crypto-valley-has-started-accepting-bitcoin-ether-for-tax-payments\/\"> residents in other areas of the country already able to pay taxes in Bitcoin and Ether<\/a>. The \u2018Plan B\u2019 announcement of Lugano goes much further however, with public services such as parking, waste management and tuition fees all able to be paid in crypto. The city is aiming to develop infrastructure for private businesses to easily join the scheme, enabling a fully-functional blockchain-based economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING NEWS: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Bitcoin<\/a> , <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Tether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Tether<\/a> &amp; the City&#39;s LVGA token will become de facto LEGAL TENDER in Lugano <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LuganoPlanB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LuganoPlanB<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gvZKKRveOI\">pic.twitter.com\/gvZKKRveOI<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Tether (@Tether_to) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tether_to\/status\/1499425878601834504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 3, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan also carries a focus on business development and education. A specialized business hub is to be set up, with over 100 million Swiss Francs available to foster blockchain-based start-ups that wish to relocate to the city, and a further 3 million Swiss Francs available to drive blockchain adoption amongst local businesses. A specialized curriculum on Bitcoin and the lightning network is also to be developed in local universities, with 500 student grants available to encourage blockchain education in the region. Lugano will hope to solidify its status as a leading European player in the crypto-space by hosting the \u2018Bitcoin World Forum\u2019 in October 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mayor was joined by City Director Pietro Poretti and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino for the<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Zfh-oOlt03I\"> live-streamed event<\/a>. Ardoino made reference to the increases in tourism and GDP reported in El Salvador after Bitcoin adoption, highlighting the team\u2019s aspirations by stating, \u201cImagine what we can do in a city at the centre of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">GM <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oOFZpZ8qkW\">pic.twitter.com\/oOFZpZ8qkW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paoloardoino\/status\/1499663520769654789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>El Salvador became the first nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021. President Nayib Bukele is adamant the move has been a great success, drawing on favorable GDP and tourism statistics, however<a href=\"https:\/\/www.centralbanking.com\/central-banks\/currency\/digital-currencies\/7924341\/imf-warns-el-salvador-on-crypto\"> recent warnings from the International Monetary Federation<\/a> urge caution. Despite this, other nations are expected to follow El Salvador\u2019s lead in 2022, with<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/billybambrough\/2022\/03\/01\/mexico-is-on-the-list-other-countries-could-soon-follow-el-salvador-in-bitcoin-adoption-as-the-price-of-ethereum-bnb-solana-cardano-xrp-terras-luna-and-avalanche-soar\/?sh=33d9639b7f9f\"> Tonga and Mexico topping the list of countries set for crypto adoption<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with increasing threats of regulation from the Biden administration, Bitcoin adoption is gathering pace within the US also. The start of 2022 has seen a wave of pro-crypto regulation from US states, with representatives from Arizona and California tabling bills for Bitcoin to be accepted as legal tender. More recently, the state of<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/ABCNews\/colorado-state-accept-cryptocurrency-payment-taxes\/story?id=83066842\"> Colorado has announced definitive plans to accept cryptocurrency as payment for tax bills<\/a>, although no fixed timeline exists for the system to come to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is clear that worldwide adoption of cryptocurrency shows no sign of slowing down, with Lugano just the latest in a long line of examples. Investment firm<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fidelitydigitalassets.com\/articles\/2021-trends-impact\"> Fidelity have likened the adoption process to \u2018high stakes game theory\u2019<\/a>, with large actors feeling increasing pressure to acquire digital assets. Fidelity state that even if they do not necessarily believe in the investment thesis, nations do not want to miss out on the huge economic advantage that the \u2018first movers\u2019 like Lugano and El Salvador will benefit from if the crypto space continues to prosper, so are acquiring digital assets as a \u2018hedge\u2019 position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, anyone for a holiday to Lugano?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Swiss City of Lugano has announced ambitious plans to become a major European blockchain hub, with Bitcoin and USDT to be accepted as legal tender. The announcement was made in conjunction with Tether Operations Limited, and continues a growing trend of mainstream crypto adoption worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,61],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019 - grandpascrypto.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Swiss City of Lugano has announced ambitious plans to become a major European blockchain hub, with Bitcoin and USDT to be accepted as legal tender. The announcement was made in conjunction with Tether Operations Limited, and continues a growing trend of mainstream crypto adoption worldwide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"grandpascrypto.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-12T15:23:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-12T15:23:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Basil\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/\",\"name\":\"grandpascrypto.com\",\"description\":\"Crypto explained so well that your grandpa can understand\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/\",\"name\":\"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019 - grandpascrypto.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-12T15:23:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-12T15:23:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/04fc4c5a8b4e71be9cf7abc553a4dc77\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/04fc4c5a8b4e71be9cf7abc553a4dc77\",\"name\":\"James Wallis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":{\"url\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/James.jpeg\",\"url2x\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/James.jpeg\"},\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d76631a60bf1a7fbc3039e3cd1d1aa6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Wallis\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/author\/james-wallis\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019 - grandpascrypto.com","og_description":"The Swiss City of Lugano has announced ambitious plans to become a major European blockchain hub, with Bitcoin and USDT to be accepted as legal tender. The announcement was made in conjunction with Tether Operations Limited, and continues a growing trend of mainstream crypto adoption worldwide.","og_url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/","og_site_name":"grandpascrypto.com","article_published_time":"2022-03-12T15:23:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-12T15:23:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Basil","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/","name":"grandpascrypto.com","description":"Crypto explained so well that your grandpa can understand","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lugano.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/","name":"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019 - grandpascrypto.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-03-12T15:23:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-12T15:23:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/04fc4c5a8b4e71be9cf7abc553a4dc77"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/luganos-plan-b\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lugano\u2019s \u2018Plan B\u2019"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/04fc4c5a8b4e71be9cf7abc553a4dc77","name":"James Wallis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":{"url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/James.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/James.jpeg"},"contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d76631a60bf1a7fbc3039e3cd1d1aa6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Wallis"},"url":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/author\/james-wallis\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":162,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"james-wallis","display_name":"James Wallis"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":634,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions\/634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandpascrypto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}