Swiss city Lugano accepts Bitcoin and Tether for municipal taxes

The Swiss city of Lugano is enhancing the local adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) by enabling citizens and companies to pay for municipal services and taxes with cryptocurrency.

The city of Lugano officially announced on Dec. 5 that the local administration now accepts cryptocurrency payments for taxes and all other community fees.

Starting immediately, Lugano will accept Bitcoin and major stablecoin Tether (USDT) as a means of payment in an automated process through the Swiss institutional-grade cryptocurrency platform Bitcoin Suisse.

According to the announcement, Lugano citizens and companies will be able to pay all local invoices — regardless of the nature of the service or the amount invoiced — with Bitcoin.

Residents of Lugano are able to pay taxes or services with Bitcoin through the Swiss QR-bill by scanning the code on the invoice and paying with their preferred mobile wallet and the selected cryptocurrency.

Lugano’s latest crypto move is part of Plan B, a collaborative effort with Tether to use Bitcoin technology as the foundation for transforming the city’s financial system. Bitcoin Suisse supports Lugano in its Plan B by serving as the technical partner in the integrated payment solution, providing an option to accept payments with Bitcoin and Tether for tax collection and other invoices for municipal services.

As previously reported, Lugano started adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments as part of a collaboration with Tether in March 2022. Previously, the city also implemented blockchain-based solutions, including the MyLugano app and its LVGA Points payment token, the Lugano digital franc and the 3Achain blockchain infrastructure.

Lugano isn’t the only city in Switzerland that has been actively adopting Bitcoin for payments and experimenting with blockchain technology.

Previously, the Swiss canton of Zug started accepting Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) for tax payments from local companies and individuals in 2021. Zermatt, a municipality in the district in the canton of Valais, rolled out the Bitcoin tax payment option in partnership with Bitcoin Suisse in January 2020.

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