The multinational fast food chain is one of the first to take part in an experiment in Lugano that is crypto-friendly.
In Lugano, a city of 63,000 citizens in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland, which is rapidly becoming a hotspot for cryptocurrency acceptance in Western Europe, the multinational fast food chain McDonald’s began to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.
On October 3, Bitcoin Magazine posted a one-minute video to Twitter showing the purchase of food at a McDonald’s digital kiosk and the subsequent payment of that item using a mobile app at the shop’s cash register.
🇨🇭 Paying at McDonald's with #Bitcoin in Lugano, Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/8IdcupEEKQ
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 3, 2022
It is not surprising to see the Tether logo next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit cash machine because the city of Lugano declared in March 2022 that it would accept Bitcoin, Tether, and the LVGA token as legal money.
On March 3, 2022, the city and Tether Operations Limited signed a memorandum of understanding, marking the beginning of the so-called “Plan B.”
In accordance with this strategy, Tether has established two funds: the first is a $106 million (or 100 million Swiss francs) investment pool for cryptocurrency startups, and the second is a $3 million (or 3 million Swiss francs) initiative to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency for stores and businesses throughout the city.
The initiative will expand payments to parking tickets, municipal services, and school tuition fees in addition to enabling Lugano residents to pay their taxes using cryptocurrency. Additionally, more than 200 local shops and businesses are predicted to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services.
Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex, said that Plan B “is doing fantastic”. He also announced a two-week educational event on blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the city.
El Salvador was the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as legal money in September 2021. Since then, all 19 McDonald’s outlets around the country have begun accepting Bitcoin.
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