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Lugano Recognizes Crypto

Following El-Salvador’s recognition of Bitcoin as a legal tender last year. Many parts of the world have been mulling over the idea and making plans in that direction.

This time the train stopped at Lugano, a city in the southern part of Switzerland which aims to be a cryptocurrency hub in the center of Europe.

Crypto Hub Of Europe

The city announced yesterday that it would recognize crypto as a legal tender. The city’s mayor, Michelle Folleti made the announcement in a live broadcast of the Lugano plan B event held in partnership with Tether. 

He said that Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), and Lugano’s LVGA Points Token will be recognized as de-facto currencies.

Last year, the city developed it’s LGVA token which runs on Lugano’s Proof-of-Authority blockchain. It was also around this time that the city started with blockchain technology and crypto payments. 

According to Pietro Poretti, the city’s director, the city started making plans to accept Bitcoin and Tether as legal tender about 18 months ago. 

He also said that 

“Lugano is the economic capital of southern Switzerland and has always been a leader in the creation of new opportunities,” 

The journey to accepting cryptocurrencies as legal tender was aided by a partnership with Tether. This was rewarded by the recognition of Tether’s stablecoin USDT as one of the legal tenders. 

According to Paolo Ardorino, Tether’s CTO,  the company  partnered with the city to set up a $100 million incentive fund aimed at startups that relocate their headquarters and employees to Lugano. 

Crypto Companies

This partnership is aimed at attracting more crypto companies to the city. Tether will also take part in the creation of a massive startup hub in the center of the city that will host startups from around the world. 

So, we are looking at a crypto Silicon Valley in the heart of Europe’s banking power house. Lugano’s roadmap towards being a crypto hub is quite comprehensive and well laid out. 

If the city succeeds in attracting the amount of startups it aims at bringing in, there will be a serious labor shortage. So to address this deficit they are looking towards academics. The plan is to promote blockchain and crypto-focused education. This will produce an educated workforce well versed in blockchain technology. 

Also, according to Ardorino, the companies have set aside funds for 500 scholarships for students focusing on blockchain and crypto technology. 

Now,  this scholarship will also attract crypto enthusiasts from different parts of the world to the city. This will build the educated crypto workforce they envisioned in their plan. 

A lot have gone into this plan and as Ardorino said;

“This isn’t a marketing ploy, It’s a set of concrete steps to make Lugano the blockchain capital of the world.”

Lugano Recognizes Crypto News

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