In Lugano, Switzerland, you will pay for the Big Mac with Bitcoin

McDonald's apparently envied its competitors the more and more frequently emerging information about the opening to cryptocurrency payments for products and services and is introducing this possibility also at home. In Lugano, Switzerland you can pay for food and drinks both in Bitcoins (BTC)and stablecoin Tether (USDT).

A video showing the Bitcoin payment at McDonald's appeared on Bitcoin Magazine's Twitter. It shows how a resident of Lugano in Switzerland pays for the order with cryptocurrency. Interestingly, it was the automatic ordering machine itself that offered this type of payment. 

In the video, we see how the customer selects individual items from the menu and then pays at the checkout. The application asks for the client's wallet, and the payment itself ends with the reading of the QR code. The fee is converted into Bitcoin (BTC), but in the application we also see the Tether logo (USDT), i.e. stablecoina based on the US dollar (USD).

Why exactly in Lugano?

In this Swiss city, which has a population of approx. 63 thousand. people have been focusing on technological innovations for years. The place bordering Italy is even considered by some to be the European capital of digital resources. 

Why? This is influenced not only by advanced technologies in everyday use, but also by the fact that in March 2022 the mayor of the city signed an agreement with Tether Operations Limited, under which Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) i LG extension (it's the local cryptocurrency of Lugano) have become legal tender in the city. In Lugano, you can legally settle accounts in cryptocurrencies, but also pay wages, tuition fees for studies or local taxes in them. By the end of the year, the possibility of paying in cryptocurrencies is to be available in over 200 points in the city. 

Of course, the Swiss would not be themselves if they did not guarantee in the agreement that it benefits both parties. Thanks to the signed document, Tether invested in the creation of two development funds in Lugano. The first has a value of CHF 100 million and focuses primarily on the development of new crypto companies. The second, worth around 3 million Swiss francs, mainly deals with encouraging and facilitating the adoption of cryptocurrencies by all, even the smallest, local companies. 

These programs were also used by the local McDonald's, which - like almost all opened in Europe - is based on a franchise agreement. In fact, it is a local company that pays taxes in Lugano and benefits from all the benefits of local aid programs. 

Cryptocurrencies go to thatch

Let us remind you that you can already pay in cryptocurrencies in many places. In Japan Bitcoin has already been recognized as a full-fledged means of payment in 2017. Then, El Salvador, struggling with hyperinflation, decided to adopt BTC it as the national currency. 

You can currently pay with cryptocurrencies all over the world, including Poland. In Warsaw alone, there are over 50 points that accept BTC payments and more. 

The real hit, however, are payment cards issued by cryptocurrency exchanges for some time. Thanks to them, you can pay in tokens literally everywhere, wherever there is a card terminal. They work on the principle of conversion. We choose which cryptocurrency we want to pay (from whatever we have on our wallet), and the card converts it into a fiat currency in which the payment is made and without our interference the money goes to the contractor, e.g. in PLN. Such cards often offer too additional bonuses, and the most popular of them is cashbackwhich sometimes amounts to as much as 10% of the transaction value.