McDonalds and Other Businesses in Lugano to Accept Bitcoin

Mcdonald’s and other businesses have started accepting Bitcoin and Tether as payment methods in the Swiss town of Lugano.

Following a decision from the mayor of Lugano to make Bitcoin and Tether “de facto legal” tender in the city, residents can now pay with these two cryptocurrencies at both branches of the fast-food chain. In a video posted to Twitter by Bitcoin Magazine, a customer can be seen ordering food and paying for it at a register where the Tether logo can be seen next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit card machine. 

🇨🇭 Paying at McDonald’s with #Bitcoin in Lugano, Switzerlandhttps://t.co/Htbap5jjrk

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 3, 2022

In March 2022, the city announced that it would accept Tether, Bitcoin, and the LVGA token as legal tender. The town signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations, launching “Plan B” which created two funds – a $106 million investment pool for crypto startups, and a $3 million initiative to encourage the adoption of cryptocurrencies for businesses across the city. Plan B aims to scale Bitcoin and stablecoin adoption in the city of Lugano. The project allows residents of Lugano to pay their taxes using cryptos but moreover will extend payments to public services, tuition fees for students, and parking tickets. It is expected that over 200 shops and businesses in the region will soon accept payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies.

CTO of Tether, Paolo Ardino, said:

Earlier this year, Lugano and Tether signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic collaboration through several initiatives, including to help local businesses integrate their existing payment services with the permitted stablecoins and Bitcoin. We have been working together to ensure the technological infrastructure is in place to support this and today we watch all of that hard work come to fruition.

Tether added in an announcement that as of today crypto payments will be available at a dozen merchants across the city for customers using their wallets. It added that over the following 25 days the city will even more businesses accept digital payments. By the end of 2023, Plan B aims to allow crypto payments for over 2,500 merchants in Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.