On the first day of Tether’s inaugural Plan ? forum in Lugano, Switzerland, The Salvadoran Ambassador Milena Mayorga announced that El Salvador and the city of Lugano have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation aimed at the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

According to an October 28 announcement from stablecoin issuer Tether, the partnership between the Latin American country and the Swiss city will support drives to spread various cryptocurrencies’ adoption across their respective areas as well as “fostering the exchange of students and talents between El Salvador and Lugano.” 

To spread the adoption of cryptocurrency across Europe, El Salvador also plans to open a “Bitcoin office” in Lugano.

Tether, the organization behind the world’s biggest stablecoin USDT, is attempting to make Lugano a crypto center where individuals can spend Bitcoin and stablecoins through a drive called “Plan B.” 

Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga said in the announcement: “My fellow Salvadorans and I are very excited by the promise of Bitcoin, and I look forward to seeing how this initiative will help increase access to economic security and economic freedom for all, one of the main goals of President Nayib Bukele's government.” 

At the Plan B event, Blockstream ex-chief strategy officer Samson Mow said the agreement was the “next step” in nation-states and cities adopting BTC: El Salvador and Lugano “are going to start working together and collaborating on joint initiatives. I think that’s the way we push each other forward — basically create alliances between places that have adopted Bitcoin.”