Swiss City Lugano Incorporates Polygon into Its Payment App, MyLugano

The Italian-speaking Swiss city of Lugano, in its effort to become Europe’s blockchain hub, has integrated Polygon’s PoS into its innovative payment app, MyLugano. This forward-thinking move enables the app’s 30,000 users to access a multi-chain digital asset wallet, taking a significant stride towards mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.

MyLugano, already popular among Lugano’s citizens, has updated its features to include a dedicated section for its more experienced users. This section offers access to a wallet resembling MetaMask, with ckBTC – Crypto Key Bitcoin Tokens – being the first cryptocurrency to be integrated. These tokens are an innovative digital asset based on the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) technology.

With this integration, MyLugano’s users can explore a vast array of dApps, transact using LVGA – Lugano’s local stablecoin, and partake in an exciting loyalty scheme. As part of Lugano’s blockchain initiative, the city has also launched its own non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which immortalizes a unique physical artwork by Yuri Catania. This collection captures the transformation of 2,000 paper flowers into tangible ones over time, a process preserved in the MyLugano NFT collection.

The city also harbors plans to allow its residents and businesses to pay annual taxes, parking tickets, public services, and even student tuition fees using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Tether, and LVGA. All these transactions will be facilitated on the Polygon PoS rails, marking a major step towards cryptocurrencies becoming legal tender in Lugano.

Apart from Lugano, other Alpine localities are also positioning themselves as cryptocurrency hotspots in Europe. The Zug canton, another Swiss region, garnered attention when it started to accept Bitcoin for tax payments and other public fees. Likewise, Liechtenstein, a duchy nestled between Switzerland and Austria, has been a crypto pioneer since 2019, recently announcing its intention to facilitate payments using Bitcoin.

Switzerland’s historical role as a financial hub is in line with the growing interest in high-level crypto adoption in the Alpine region. Meanwhile, the development of a digital euro by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the issuance of crypto custody licenses to German banks, including DZ Bank and Commerzbank, signify the continent’s increased interest in blockchain technology.

This integration of Polygon into MyLugano not only demonstrates the utility of Polygon’s PoS Chain within a municipal context but also signals a shift in the adoption of blockchain technology. From private companies to governments, the increasing reliance on Polygon underscores its expanding role in the global digital ecosystem.