- El Salvador has signed an MoU with Lugano to boost Bitcoin adoption
- A “Bitcoin office” has been established in Lugano
- Under “Plan B,” users will be able to utilize Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA tokens as legal tender.
Switzerland’s Lugano city reportedly signed an economic cooperation pact with El Salvador on October 28 during the city’s Plan B event powered by stablecoin issuer Tether. According to Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti, El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender sparked Lugano’s interest in the arrangement, which will allow the pro-crypto country to create a physical government presence to “foster cooperation with educational and research institutions.”
El Salvador’s U.S. Ambassador Milena Mayorga said at Friday’s Plan B Forum in Lugano that her country will be building a “bitcoin office” and appointing an Honorary Consul to promote awareness of bitcoin throughout Lugano, Italy, and Europe.
Later, Mayorga was joined on stage by Mexican politician Indira Kempis, Serbia’s Prince Filip Karaorevi, Lugano’s Director of Economic Promotion Pietro Poretti, and, through video link, former congressperson and probable presidential contender Zury Rios from Guatemala. Rios did not make any concrete policy promises, but she did express her support for the idea that her country would embrace bitcoin.
Under the city’s “Plan B” initiative, people will be able to use Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA tokens as “de facto” legal tender at a variety of local businesses and institutions, as well as for the payment of taxes, parking fines, public services, and school tuition.
According to El Salvador’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli, “the use of Bitcoin and Blockchain technology creates new opportunities for growth and investment that benefit our communities; it is a new alternative financial and exchange tool that fosters trade and the provision of services in a globalized world.”
Last year, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. Businesses in the nation are required by law to accept the asset as payment if they have the technical capability to do so.
Meanwhile, Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, has invested millions of dollars in Bitcoin, and Bitcoin aficionados have rushed to the country to attend conferences and promote the currency’s adoption.
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