Plan B bitcoin programme of the City of Lugano

Swiss angle

Plan B is a city programme. The Plan B home page calls it a citywide initiative by the City of Lugano and Tether, executed and guided by the Plan B Foundation. The About page says the foundation is a non-profit headquartered in Lugano and chaired by the mayor, Michele Foletti. It holds no customer funds, so it is not a financial service.

The deal has a fixed term. On 3 March 2026, according to the same About page, the city and Tether renewed their memorandum of understanding for another 4 years, until 2030.

In Lugano you can pay the city itself in bitcoin. The City of Lugano crypto payments page, read on 4 October 2026, says every invoice the city issues, including taxes, duties and fines, can be settled in BTC on-chain, over Lightning or in USDT, with no amount limit. The same page says the city's payment partner charges 1% of the amount paid in CHF, built into the exchange rate, and that the city converts every payment to francs at once and keeps no crypto treasury.

Shops take it too. The home page counts over 360 merchants in Lugano that accept bitcoin, Tether and the local LVGA token. The pay-in-crypto page says every Plan B merchant takes bitcoin over Lightning, and that customers get 10% cashback through the MyLugano app.

Lugano is in Ticino, so daily life runs in Italian. The yearly Plan B Forum is held there: the forum page dates the 2026 edition to 23 and 24 October at the Convention Centre and Villa Ciani, with early bird peer tickets at CHF 249 and student tickets at CHF 99.

Who it is for

People who want to spend their bitcoin as well as hold it. A Lightning wallet and the merchant map on the pay-in-crypto page are enough for a day of paying in sats.

Lugano residents and companies who would rather settle a city invoice from their own wallet than from a bank account. Read the Swiss Bitcoin tax guide first to see how spending bitcoin from private holdings is treated.

Conference goers. The home page says the forum draws over 2,500 attendees, and it lists education programmes and regular meetups beside it. The Bitcoin Association Switzerland shows the forum on its own calendar.

Who it is not for

Bitcoin-only purists. Tether is a founding partner, and the pay-in-crypto page puts USDT and LVGA next to bitcoin at every merchant.

Anyone who expects the city to hold bitcoin. The City of Lugano crypto payments page says payments are converted to francs immediately.

People looking for on-chain payments at the till. Merchants take Lightning; for that step, the Lightning home setup guide explains the wallet side.