Crypto Leaders Celebrate Bitcoin-Friendly Swiss City Lugano’s New Mayor

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Michele Foletti, renowned for his positive outlook on cryptocurrencies, has been newly appointed as the Mayor of crypto-welcoming city Lugano in Switzerland. This news has brought joy and jubilation among crypto community leaders.

The Bitcoin Community Celebrates Lugano City’s Win

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the stablecoin creator, expressed his excitement on X platform about Lugano’s triumph, saying:

Congratulations to @MicheleLugano for winning the mayoral elections in #lugano

In simpler terms, Lugano – one of Switzerland’s top three cities – has confidently selected a mayor capable of leading its people effectively in our fast-paced world. This leader will advocate for their rights and freedoms.

— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) April 14, 2024

Ardoino has faith that Foletti, as Mayor of economically vibrant Lugano in southern Switzerland, will steer the population effectively through changing times. He trusts that Foletti will safeguard their liberties and security while adopting innovative technologies to boost the local economy.

In agreement with Adoino’s viewpoint, Samson Mow, the CEO of Jan3, expressed approval for Folleti’s mayoral appointment in Lugano. Additionally, a user on X pointed out that Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) are frequently utilized as payment methods in numerous stores within the Swiss city.

In 2022, the city made an announcement that it would start accepting crypto, including Bitcoin, as a valid form of payment for taxes, merchandise, and services. As per the news, individuals residing in the Italian-speaking region have the legal right to use this digital currency. Consequently, local inhabitants of Lugano have been making transactions for parking fines, public utilities, and school fees using cryptocurrency.

An additional development is that Lugano chose to implement the Polygon network, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution, to boost its crypto advancement. When this decision was made, Polygon announced that MyLugano, Lugano’s payment platform, had been upgraded by incorporating Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network. This enhancement has made transactions on MyLugano more convenient for European consumers.

It might be shocking to learn that Lugano isn’t the sole Swiss city embracing Bitcoin as a means of payment. In fact, as early as 2021, the Swiss canton of Zug started accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as tax payments from local businesses and residents. Furthermore, Zermatt, which is a municipality in the Valais canton district, introduced the Bitcoin tax payment alternative in partnership with Bitcoin Suisse back in January 2020.

Lugano Mirrors El Salvador’s Bitcoin Move

Lugano aspires to match El Salvador’s bold crypto moves in 2021. Notably, El Salvador became the pioneer nation in adopting digital currency as legal tender when its President, Nayib Bukele, announced this step following parliamentary approval.

After Bukele’s re-election in early 2021, El Salvador has strengthened its dedication to embracing digital assets on a larger scale. The nation has established an official Bitcoin office and passed fresh legislation, granting citizenship to foreigners. Based on Coinspeaker’s reports, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings have grown beyond $150 million as the asset reached a new record high.

Currently, Bitcoin is priced at $66,473 per unit, marking a 2.6% rise over the previous 24-hour period. Its total value in the market reaches an impressive $1.3 trillion.

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2024-04-15 13:24