European cryptocurrency startups will receive $ 100 million each

The authorities of the Swiss city of Lugano have created an investment fund to support cryptocurrency startups worth more than CHF 100 million ($ 110.5 million). The project aims to attract investment in the city and promote the development of blockchain technologies.

Local companies will receive assistance in integrating payments in bitcoin, USDT, and LVGA tokens thanks to a CHF 3 million fund. The fund also plans to provide more than 500 grants to college students to prepare them for a career in blockchain.

The project is part of an initiative to integrate bitcoin BTC $56,176.92 Bitcoin -1.95% Market capitalization $1.11 trillion VOL. 24 hours $2.72 billion into Lugano’s financial infrastructure and use blockchain in business projects. In cooperation with Tether, a company that issues stablecoins, the city has launched the Plan ₿ Biz School educational project. More than 300 experts and blockchain enthusiasts will conduct seminars on the benefits of blockchain for business, ways to accept cryptocurrency transactions, and paying taxes in bitcoin.

Since 2022, Lugano has legalized payments in bitcoin, USDT, and LVGA. Currently, virtual coins are accepted in more than 150 retail outlets and businesses in the city. In December of the same year, the ministry launched a system for paying taxes and municipal services in bitcoin and USDT using the Swiss crypto platform Bitcoin Suisse.

In 2022, the «bitcoin office» of El Salvador, the first country in the world to legalize bitcoin payments, opened in Lugano.