Swiss city Lugano has partnered with Tether to make its LVGA Points token, Tether, and bitcoin essentially legal tender in the city.
They will allow people to pay for public service fees or taxes with bitcoin, according to municipal director Pietro Poretti. He co-announced the news alongside mayor Michele Foletti and Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino at a live-streamed event on Thursday.
Over 200 shops have already partnered with the city to promote bitcoin and Lightning payments.
“Plan B,” a municipal effort being developed and worked on in partnership with Tether to attract riches, brilliant minds, and possibilities, is “perhaps the most essential component of this endeavor,” Ardoino added.
USDT, the stablecoin created by Tether, will also be accepted as legal tender in the city.
The plan calls for the construction of a physical facility in the city’s center to serve as a hub for Bitcoin and blockchain firms looking to relocate to the city and a gathering place for networking events and holding Bitcoin meetups and seminars.
Lugano follows El Salvador’s footsteps
“After making bitcoin legal money, El Salvador’s GDP climbed by 10%, and tourism increased by 30%,” Ardoino remarked. “Imagine what we could do in the heart of Europe.”
Plan B also calls for the establishment of two investment funds. The first will spend up to $3.26 million to promote the use of bitcoin, USDT, and LVGA, Lugano’s stablecoin worth one-tenth of a Swiss franc that will also be legal money.
The second is the establishment of a pool of money of up to $108.6 million for Bitcoin and blockchain firms wishing to move and establish headquarters in the city and bring people to the Swiss town.
A tight engagement with academics is another part of Lugano’s Plan B. In collaboration with local colleges, it wants to develop a specific curriculum on Bitcoin and Lightning to improve the abilities of young pupils in these emerging technologies.
To build a skilled and specialized workforce, Bitcoin and blockchain education activities will also entail the creation of 500 student grants.
Ardoino and Poretti revealed in the event that the Bitcoin World Forum, a global event focusing on the acceleration of bitcoin adoption and advocacy for freedom of speech, will be held in Lugano in late October.
The presenters also stated that Lugano would begin mining bitcoin as Plan B investigates options the city may use to generate BTC using green energy sources.