Lugano After One Year on its Bitcoin and Tether Standard

It’s been one year since the Swiss city of Lugano established Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) as de facto legal tender within its borders. Since then, how has its adoption initiative fared?

On Monday, Tether published a breakdown of various milestones the city has reached around crypto infrastructure and education under “Plan B.”

• According to Tether’s post, over 150 merchants around Lugano are now accepting Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA – Lugano’s Swiss-franc pegged stablecoin – for payments. The Plan B Foundation plans to expand acceptance to 2500 more merchants by the end of 2023. 

• Lugano has also issued the very first blockchain-based municipal bond. The 6-year debt issuance, worth 100 million CHF ($107 million), can be traded directly on the SDX exchange, which is owned by Switzerland’s financial market infrastructure provider. 
• Per the initiative’s original plans, the city’s municipal services now take payment in crypto, helping foster a circular economy for cryptocurrencies. 
• On educationTether hosted a summer school for 86 students from 26 countries to learn about crypto from experts, and provided 500 grants to further their learning.
• Summer school students were also provided the chance to connect with potential employers at the Plan B job fair, connecting blockchain industry employers with dormant talent. 
• The Plan B Forum – a conference focused on expanding Bitcoin adoption – took place in October 2022, and was home to over 1000 Bitcoin lightning network transactions, 130 USDT transactions, and 200 LVGA transactions. 
• Two countries thus far have officially established Bitcoin as legal tender: El Salvador, and the Central African Republic (CAR).