Lugano makes Bitcoin, Tether and LVGA token legal tender

The move will allow citizens and companies to use cryptocurrencies to pay their annual taxes, parking tickets, public services and student tuition fees.

The move goes beyond the actions of a number of other Swiss localities that for some time have been accepting crypto for tax payments.

The new rule is quite similar to El Salvador, Lugano is aiming to have its businesses seamlessly use cryptos for everyday transactions. However, in El Salvador, only Bitcoin is considered as a legal tender.

Polygon has joined the effort as an infrastructure partner, offering the rails on which the stablecoins will run. Lugano aims to become Europe’s Bitcoin capital.

Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder, Polygon said, “Combining the stability of stablecoin technology with Polygon’s low-cost infrastructure provides Lugano with a rapid, and non-volatile means of transacting.”

In an event hosted in the city, Lugano’s mayor described the move as a ‘de facto’ legalization, as the Swiss franc will surely remain the actual legal tender in Lugano and elsewhere in Switzerland.

The city will also create a specialized hub hosting companies and start-ups; and set up a $109 million fund to help finance blockchain based startups and set aside another 3 million Swiss francs to speed adoption by local businesses.

Over the past year, Lugano had launched a digital wallet and a loyalty program based on LVGA points. It developed 3Achain, an EVM-compatible city blockchain that uses a Proof of Authority consensus and is linked to Ethereum.

Lugano is the ninth largest city of Switzerland’s with a total population of more than 60,000. Lugano is in the Italian-speaking southern part of the country.