FT · 2026-11-13 05:00 UTC

The Alpine crypto 'wonderland' forging close ties with Tether

Lugano, Switzerland has pivoted toward crypto, with nearly 500 shops accepting bitcoin, Tether's USDT or the city's LVGA token, and city charges payable in digital tokens. Tether backed a bitcoin conference display in Lugano last month; co-founders Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino began their crypto careers in the city. Tether, whose stablecoin has $176bn in circulation, is banned in Italy and has faced US investigations over alleged terrorism-financing and sanctions-evasion payments, which it denies; critics say ties to it harm Lugano's image.

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