By
Josh O'Sullivan
April 30th, 2024
Lugano’s crypto ambitions are comparable to the Central American country El Salvador.
Michele Foletti, known for his optimistic stance on crypto was recently elected as the new Mayor of the Bitcoin-friendly Swiss City of Lugano, sparking excitement and celebrations amongst crypto leaders.
The Bitcoin Community Celebrates Lugano City’s Win
Paolo Ardoino, Chief Executive Officer of stablecoin issuer Tether took to the X platform to celebrate Lugano’s victory, stating:
Congratulations to @MicheleLugano for winning the mayoral elections in #lugano
Lugano, one of the 3 most important cities in Switzerland, has strongly affirmed the choice of a mayor that can guide the population through this rapidly changing world, defending the rights to…
— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) April 14, 2024
Ardoino believes Lugano, the economic hub of Italian-speaking southern Switzerland, is in good hands with Foletti as its Mayor. According to him, Foletti can lead the population through the evolving world, defending their rights to freedom and stability while embracing new technologies for the progress of the local economy.
Adding to Adoino’s perspective, Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3, commented that Folleti’s appointment as Lugano’s Mayor is the right way to go. Another X user noted that Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) are currently being used as a means of payment in many shops in the Swiss city.
The city announced in 2022 that it was adopting crypto as payment for taxes, goods, and services. According to reports, citizens of the Italian-speaking province can use Bitcoin as a legal tender. Accordingly, residents of Lugano utilized cryptocurrency to pay for parking tickets, public services, and school tuition.
Furthermore, Lugano adopted the Polygon network, a Layer 2 scaling solution built on the Ethereum blockchain to enhance its crypto evolution. At the time, Polygon stated that Lugano had improved its payment platform MyLugano by integrating its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network, making payments more accessible to consumers across Europe.
Surprisingly, Lugano is not the only Swiss city that has aggressively used Bitcoin as a payment method. In 2021, the Swiss canton of Zug began accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as tax payment methods from local businesses and individuals. Zermatt, a municipality in the district in the canton of Valais also launched the Bitcoin tax payment option in collaboration with Bitcoin Suisse in January 2020.
Lugano Mirrors El Salvador’s Bitcoin Move
Lugano’s crypto ambitions are comparable to the Central American country El Salvador. In 2021, the country’s President, Nayib Bukele, proclaimed BTC a legal tender after approval by its Parliament at the time. This move effectively made El Salvador the first country in the world to use digital currency as legal tender.
Following Bukele’s re-election earlier this year, El Salvador has reaffirmed its commitment to the wider acceptance of the digital asset. The country has officially launched a Bitcoin office in the nation and recently issued new legislation to offer citizenship to foreigners. According to reports from Coinspeaker, El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserves have risen to more than $150 million as the asset recently rallied to a new all-time high.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $66,473, representing an increase of 2.6% in the past 24 hours, with its market capitalization standing at $1.3 trillion.