Key Points
- Michele Foletti, a crypto-optimistic, has been elected the new Mayor of the Bitcoin-friendly Swiss City of Lugano.
- Lugano is known for its crypto-friendly policies, including accepting Bitcoin as legal tender and integrating the Polygon network for enhanced crypto transactions.
Michele Foletti, a known advocate for cryptocurrency, has recently been elected as the new Mayor of Lugano, a city in Switzerland renowned for its Bitcoin-friendly policies.
This development has sparked excitement among the crypto community.
Crypto Community’s Response
Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, a stablecoin issuer, expressed his delight on a social media platform over Lugano’s election outcome.
According to Ardoino, Foletti’s leadership will be beneficial for Lugano, an economic hub in southern Switzerland.
He believes Foletti will guide the city’s populace through the rapidly changing world, upholding their rights to freedom and stability while adopting new technologies for the local economy’s progress.
Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3, echoed Ardoino’s sentiment, stating that Foletti’s appointment as Lugano’s Mayor is a positive development.
A social media user also highlighted that Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) are currently being used as a means of payment in many shops in Lugano.
Lugano’s Crypto-Friendly Policies
In 2022, Lugano publicized its decision to accept cryptocurrency as payment for taxes, goods, and services.
This meant that residents could use Bitcoin as legal tender, allowing them to pay for parking tickets, public services, and school tuition with cryptocurrency.
Additionally, Lugano integrated the Polygon network, a Layer 2 scaling solution built on the Ethereum blockchain, to enhance its crypto evolution.
This integration made payments more accessible to consumers across Europe.
Interestingly, Lugano isn’t the only Swiss city that has embraced Bitcoin as a payment method.
In 2021, the Swiss canton of Zug began accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as tax payment methods, and Zermatt, a municipality in the district in the canton of Valais, also launched the Bitcoin tax payment option in 2020.
Comparison with El Salvador
Lugano’s crypto ambitions are comparable to those of El Salvador, a Central American country.
In 2021, El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, declared BTC a legal tender after approval by its Parliament.
This move made El Salvador the first country in the world to use digital currency as legal tender.
Following Bukele’s re-election, El Salvador has continued to support the wider acceptance of the digital asset.
The country has officially launched a Bitcoin office and recently issued new legislation to offer citizenship to foreigners.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $66,473, with a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion.
