Plan ₿ Forum Lugano: MyLugano cashback and Bitcoin payments
The Plan ₿ Forum concludes in Lugano. What remains in the city: the MyLugano app with 10% cashback in LVGA, over 400 shops, and municipal invoices payable in Bitcoin.
Lugano was speaking many languages these past few days. The Plan ₿ Forum concluded yesterday, following two days—October 23rd and 24th—held between the Palazzo dei Congressi, Villa Ciani, and the former Asilo Ciani. In the corridors, I heard Spanish, English, German, and Japanese. Entrepreneurs, developers, investors, and many curious locals, all gathered by our lake to discuss Bitcoin, financial freedom, and the future of money.
The schedule was packed: keynotes, panels and masterclasses, tailored networking meetings, an area dedicated to startups and sponsors, and even an art gallery inspired by Bitcoin. At the center, the same questions remained: how money is changing, who controls it, and how we use it in everyday life. These are fascinating questions, but today I want to talk to you about what remains in the city once the spotlights go out.
Every year the event grows, and every year I am convinced of one thing: the foresight of the City of Lugano has put our canton on the global map of innovation. It all started in 2022, when the Municipality and Tether, the company behind the USDT cryptocurrency, launched the Plan ₿ program. The goal is to bring blockchain technology into the daily life of the city. Today, the results can be felt firsthand—literally—at the shop counters.
The most concrete tool is called MyLugano. It is the City's free app, available for iPhone and Android, and it contains a digital wallet with LVGA, the local city token. The mechanism is simple. You shop at one of over 400 participating stores, show the app's QR code at the checkout, and receive 10% of the amount back in LVGA. The LVGA can then be spent like real money at other shops in the circuit, from the local café to the boutiques in Via Nassa. Spend 10 francs, and you get one back. And the cashback applies even if you pay in cash or by card.
Alongside LVGA, there are Bitcoin and Tether, the stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. In Lugano, hundreds of businesses accept them: according to an investigation by the online newspaper Il Post in February, 90% of merchants participating in the LVGA program also accept Bitcoin and USDT. Credit also goes to NAKA, the company that develops the payment terminals used in the circuit. One detail reassures merchants: the same terminal accepts TWINT and traditional cards, and those who receive Bitcoin convert them immediately into francs, avoiding exchange rate risks. NAKA also offers a card compatible with Visa and Mastercard to spend one's Bitcoin anywhere.
And it doesn't end there. Since December 2023, every City invoice, including taxes, can be paid in Bitcoin or USDT, with no amount limits, using the same QR code as the payment slip. Very few cities in the world offer something similar. In terms of the adoption of digital cryptocurrency payments, Lugano is playing in the same league as the great capitals of innovation.
To be honest, I should also tell you what to keep in mind. Bitcoin fluctuates significantly: it's worth a lot today, and perhaps 15% less tomorrow. To activate the MyLugano wallet, you need an ID document, just like opening a bank account. And not all Lugano residents share the enthusiasm: the political debate regarding Plan ₿ exists and is healthy. My advice is to experiment with small amounts, without investing significant sums just for the sake of a trend.
Three concrete steps for you. Download MyLugano and activate the cashback even if you aren't interested in cryptocurrencies: 10% off your shopping at participating stores is a nice little gift. Check the map of businesses on the planb.lugano.ch website to know where to use it. And if you own a shop, look into the circuit: the terminal is provided on free loan with technical assistance, and it brings in new customers, including visitors to the Forum.
So, why a Plan B? Because in life, as in business, having an alternative gives you freedom. A second account, a second skill, a second way to pay. Lugano understood this before many others and today attracts people from all over the world. Even if Bitcoin never convinces you, it is worth knowing about it.
See you here next Sunday, on lucacarbone.ch or in the digiTIamo WhatsApp community.
Photo: Martin Thurnherr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (sculpture by Valentina Picozzi)
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