The City of Lugano and Tether's initiative to make Lugano a European hub for Bitcoin and blockchain.
Executive Summary
Lugano's Plan ₿ is a citywide initiative launched by the City of Lugano and Tether on 3 March 2022 to make Lugano a European hub for Bitcoin, blockchain and decentralized technologies. Gianluca Perletti has collaborated with the initiative through the companies he works for, Original AI and Noku.
Everyday retail adoption of Bitcoin requires fast, inexpensive payments and simple tools for merchants. On-chain confirmations alone are too slow for checkout.
Merchants also need ways to handle price volatility, for example by accepting stablecoins such as USD₮.
Plan ₿ addresses these challenges by combining merchant adoption, education, innovation and policy work.
Gianluca Perletti has collaborated with Plan ₿ through Original AI and Noku, the companies where he serves as CTO.
His involvement is a company-level collaboration, contributing technical perspective from Lugano's blockchain ecosystem (MyLugano, LVGA and SwissLedger) rather than leading the initiative's infrastructure.
according to Plan ₿, participating merchants accept Bitcoin (on-chain and Lightning), USD₮ and LVGA.
Plan ₿ states that in Lugano Bitcoin and USD₮ are accepted for municipal services, taxes and daily commerce.
in 2026 Lugano and Tether signed a new agreement covering 2026–2030 that integrates institutional blockchain, local AI and decentralized identity.
Plan ₿ reports over 360 merchants in Lugano accepting Bitcoin, USD₮ and LVGA.
The annual Plan ₿ Forum brings international participants to Lugano.
On 3 March 2026, Lugano and Tether signed a second agreement for 2026–2030 (Plan ₿ Phase II).
Lugano's Plan ₿ is a citywide initiative launched on 3 March 2022 by the City of Lugano and Tether to make Lugano the European hub for Bitcoin, blockchain and decentralized technologies, combining real-world adoption, education, innovation and policy.
According to Plan ₿, participating merchants accept Bitcoin (including Lightning), USD₮ and LVGA, Lugano's local payment token.
Gianluca has collaborated with Plan ₿ through Original AI and Noku, the companies where he is CTO. It is a company-level collaboration, not a leading role in the initiative.