Inside The Swiss City Where You Can Pay For Almost Everything In...

From McDonald’s to municipal taxes, Lugano is proving that Bitcoin adoption is not about predicting the future; it is about building the infrastructure to handle it today.

Adoption is voluntary. Merchants participate because Bitcoin Lightning fees are typically under 1%, compared with the roughly 3% average charged by credit card networks.

Residents can pay municipal bills, including taxes, parking fines and tuition, in BTC or USDT using standard QR-code invoices.

The city balances the ecosystem by using BTC for payments, USDT for stability and LVGA as a local loyalty token.

The city does not hold volatile crypto assets. Payments are converted instantly into Swiss francs (CHF) through Bitcoin Suisse, limiting the city’s exposure to crypto price volatility.

The cobblestone streets of Lugano, Switzerland are better known for their Mediterranean-style piazzas and high-end boutiques than for radical economic shifts. But look closer at storefronts along Via Nassa, and the familiar “Visa” and “Mastercard” stickers have a new neighbor: a bright yellow “Plan ₿” decal.

In this lakeside enclave, Bitcoin is no longer just a digital asset tucked away in a cold wallet. It is a functional currency used to buy everything from a morning espresso to a Big Mac and even to settle municipal tax bills.

Launched in 2022 as a partnership between the City of Lugano and Tether, Plan ₿ was not designed as a marketing stunt. It was conceived as a structural overhaul of the city’s financial rails.

While countries such as El Salvador have pursued top-down Bitcoin mandates, Lugano’s approach is quintessentially Swiss: voluntary, highly organized and focused on reducing merchant friction.

The ecosystem rests on three pillars: Bitcoin (BTC) for sovereign value, Tether’s USDt (USDT) for price stability in larger commerce and the LVGA token, a local stablecoin that powers a city-wide loyalty program.

Source: CoinTelegraph