McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food chain and one of the best-known brand names is among the first to participate in a crypto-friendly experiment in the town of Lugano in Switzerland. Lugano announced in March of 2022, that it will start accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), and LGVA tokens as legal tender. Lugano is a city of about 63,000 people in southern Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region.
Bitcoin Magazines’ Twitter account uploaded a 56-second video below shows how a person ordered from a McDonald’s digital ordering kiosk and paid for it using Bitcoin (BTC). Its caption was “Paying at McDonald’s with #Bitcoin in Lugano, Switzerland”. The clip clearly shows the BTC and USDT logos on the credit/debit card machine.
Plan B
the Swiss City signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations Limited to launch a so-called “Plan B”.
- Tether has created 2 funds – a $106 million investment pool for crypto startups and a $3 million fund to encourage crypto adoptions in shops and businesses in Lugano. Tether is the largest crypto stablecoin by market cap.
- The project will not just be limited to restaurants. The city’s residents can also use crypto to pay their taxes, parking tickets, public services, and tuition fees. More than 200 shops are expected to participate.
- There is also a plan to launch specialized training courses to foster education in BTC and blockchain technologies.
- Lugano’s plan B also supports the activation of sustainable BTC mining in the region.
To fast-food and beyond
This is not the first time McDonald’s accepted crypto payments. In 2021 the restaurant’s branches in El Salvador started accepting BTC as payment after the country adopted it as legal tender. Nevertheless, it is a piece of big news since Switzerland is one of the most advanced and highly-developed free market economies. Switzerland has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. The Swiss are also well known for their banking industry.
At the time of writing, only 2 countries are accepting BTC as legal tender. The first one is El Salvador and the second is The Central African Republic. While this is progress, more economically advanced countries are hesitant in following. BTC and crypto in general are seen as a threat to the existing financial status quo of fiat dominance.
McDonald’s is just the tip of the iceberg. Plan B is set to change the city’s residents’ way of life. Blockchain technology is in its early stages and this is seen as an investment for the future. Lugano’s project if proven successful can pave the way for country-wide adoption. If an economic powerhouse like Switzerland adopts BTC as a legal tender, then this will probably convince other countries to change their minds.
