How big is Bitcoin in Lugano? Decentralize with Cointelegraph goes to BTC school

This week, Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall takes podcast listeners back to school — Bitcoin (BTC) school. 

On the latest episode of Decentralize with Cointelegraph, listeners can indulge in interview snippets, soundbites and pearls of wisdom from the likes of Blockstream CEO Adam Back and Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino, as well as professionals in cybersecurity and from Chainalysis.

Plus, hear from students who attended the school about what it’s like to live, breathe, sleep and study crypto for two weeks, 24/7. An Italian Ethereum fan comments on Bitcoin maximalism, Latin Americans observe Europeans’ behavior regarding recycling, and Taiwanese students settle into life around the cryptocurrency. 

This week’s episode of Decentralize also investigates how deep Bitcoin and crypto adoption reaches in Lugano, the distinctly Italian city in the southern section of Switzerland. The city adopted Bitcoin as de facto legal tender one year ago, and there has been noticeable progress since then — with the Bitcoin “B” logo hard to miss in the town center. 

More than 200 vendors accept Bitcoin in Lugano. Big brands like McDonald’s, Rolex and even Lamborghini will take the cryptocurrency, while some pharmacies, convenience stores and tobacco shops also accept it.

However, Bitcoin is still not deeply or broadly understood, and there’s a lot of work to be done if Lugano is to one day fully embrace it, as Ardoino explained:

”I wish I was able to say that our job is done, but I think we are just at the beginning. The most important part is the education of the merchants.”

The point-of-sale devices merchants use across Lugano also accept Tether (USDT) and Luga, a token that locals and residents can use.  

Related: Pro-crypto city of Lugano and El Salvador sign economic agreement based on adoption

To hear a secret from Back concerning MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, learn what Paraguayans made of Switzerland on their first-ever trip to Europe, and discover why the efforts in Lugano could spread to other areas of Europe, plug in and listen in to this week’s episode of Decentralize with Cointelegraph — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Cointelegraph’s podcast page and more.

The episode also serves as a sneak preview of an upcoming Cointelegraph documentary about life in Lugano. Subscribe to Cointelegraph’s YouTube channel here to catch it when it’s released.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.