Share this article
El Salvador, Lugano Sign Agreement to Help Spread Bitcoin Adoption and Education
El Salvador also announced it was opening a “bitcoin office” in the southern Swiss city.
Updated Oct 28, 2022, 4:30 p.m. Published Oct 28, 2022, 4:00 p.m.
LUGANO, SWITZERLAND — The country of El Salvador and the Swiss city of Lugano have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at boosting bitcoin adoption in their own regions as well as neighboring states and countries.
Appearing at Lugano’s Plan B Forum on Friday, Milena Mayorga, El Salvador’s ambassador to the U.S., also announced her country’s opening of a “bitcoin office” in Lugano staffed with a new Honorary Consul to proselytize for bitcoin in the city, Italy and Europe.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
More than one year ago, El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Lugano has no such power in Switzerland, but about seven months ago launched its Plan B program with the goal of bringing bitcoin adoption to that city of 70,000.
Read more: Tether’s Paolo Ardoino Says Bitcoin Adoption in Lugano, Switzerland, Going Well
Mayorga was later joined on stage by Mexican politician Indira Kempis, Serbia’s Prince Filip Karađorđević and Lugano’s Director of Economic Promotion Pietro Poretti, and, via video link, former congressperson and possible presidential candidate Zury Rios from neighboring Guatemala. While making no formal policy pledge, Rios made clear her interest in her country possibly adopting bitcoin.
A bitcoin advocate for some time and whose country has suffered its own hyperinflation, Serbia Prince Filip might have drawn the day’s loudest applause with his forceful denouncement of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), calling them – thanks to the promise of near-total government control – the complete opposite of bitcoin. He called the selection of Rishi Sunak as U.K. prime minister a disturbing development thanks to Sunak’s embrace of CBDCs.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
U.S. SEC chief warns watchdogs need to be limited in tapping crypto's power to snoop
What to know:
- The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, argued that the very technology that makes the crypto space innovative presents a dangerous temptation for government to abuse investors surveillance.
- The SEC had its sixth crypto-related roundtable on Monday, this one on privacy and surveillance.
- Atkins said U.S. policy should reign in government's appetite for personal data.
Top Stories
