Multinational fast food chain McDonald’s has started accepting bitcoin (BTC) as a form of payment in the Italian-speaking city of Lugano (pop. 63,000) in Switzerland, which is becoming a hotspot for cryptocurrency adoption in Western Europe.
A one minute video that shows the ordered food at a McDonald’s digital kiosk and then payment at the regular Checkout using a mobile app, posted on Twitter by Bitcoin Magazine on October 3. The Tether (USDT) logo appeared next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit money dispenser. It is not surprising, because in March 2022 the city of Lugano announced that it would accept bitcoin, Tether and the LVGA token as a legal means of payment.
On March 3, 2022, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations Limited, thus launching “Plan B”. According to this plan, Tether created two funds, the first is an investment pool of 106 million dollars, or 100 million Swiss francs, for crypto startups; and the second is an initiative of about $3 million, or 3 million Swiss francs, to encourage the adoption of crypters in shops and businesses in the city.
In addition to allowing Lugano residents to pay their taxes in cryptocurrencies, the project will extend payments to parking tickets, utilities and student tuition fees. More than 200 shops and businesses in the region are also expected to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services.
Also read: Switzerland Post’s banking branch is developing an internal cryptocurrency custody platform
Speaking to Cointelegraph in June, Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Tether and Bitfinex, claimed that Plan B is “working beautifully,” as he announced a two-week blockchain and cryptocurrency educational activity in the city.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to allow bitcoin to be used as legal tender. Since that date, McDonald’s accepts bitcoin in 19 points of sale in the country.
