El Salvador also announced it was opening a “bitcoin office” in Lugano.Read MoreCoinDesk
LUGANO, SWITZERLAND – The country of El Salvador and the Swiss city of Lugano have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at boosting bitcoin adoption in their own regions as well as neighboring states and countries.
Appearing at Lugano’s Plan B Forum on Friday, Milena Mayorga, El Salvador’s U.S. ambassador, also announced her country’s opening of a “bitcoin office” in Lugano staffed with a new Honorary Consul to proselytize for bitcoin in the city, Italy and Europe.
More than one year ago, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Lugano has no such power in Switzerland, but about seven months ago launched its Plan B program with the goal of bringing bitcoin adoption to that city of 70,000.
Mayorga was later joined on stage by Mexican politician Indira Kempis, Serbia’s Prince Filip Kara?or?evi? and Lugano’s Director of Economic Promotion Pietro Poretti, and via video link, former Congressperson and possible presidential candidate Zury Rios from neighboring Guatemala. While making no formal policy pledge, Rios made clear her interest in possibly adopting bitcoin in her country.
A bitcoin advocate for some time whose country of Serbia has suffered its own hyperinflation, Prince Filip might have drawn the day’s largest applause with his forceful denouncement of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), calling them – thanks to the promise of near-total government control – the complete opposite of bitcoin. He called the selection of Rishi Sunak as U.K. prime minister a disturbing development thanks to Sunak’s embrace of CBDCs.
Read more about
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has shown only sideways movement in the last day resulting…
A sluggish Bitcoin price performance has not been the only disappointing theme for the largest…
World Liberty Financial, Trump’s crypto company, is making moves again. It recently bought another $1.4M…
Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of Strategy (MSTR) Strategy (MSTR) could…
Peter Brandt, a seasoned trader, has dismissed optimistic predictions in the wake of Bitcoin’s recent…
This article is part of a four-piece series on El Salvador. You can find the…