Every year the World Economic Forum meets in Davos and takes over the Swiss ski town. The main boulevard is packed with events and property rental companies, with a growing presence in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.
The entrance to the WEF compound is clearly marked off by concrete barriers and security personnel, drawing an invisible line between the conference and the rest of Davos. Interestingly, the last building on the sidelines of the conference was marked with familiar logos, that of Polygon and the ever-recognizable Bitcoin (BTC) symbol.
Cointelegraph bumped into Pietro Poretti while shooting images of the Bitcoin logo emblazoned on the Tech Lodge booth. Poretti is the director of the Lugano Economic Development department. This Swiss city has opened up BTC and cryptocurrency payments for various municipal accounts to its residents through its Lugano Plan B project.
Bitcoin was not on the official WEF 2023 agenda. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain were present at different workshops throughout the week, but these conversations were more focused on Web3, the Metaverse, CBDCs, and blockchain payment systems than adoption. decentralized cryptocurrency
2023 marks the second year of the Lugano Plan B setup workshop in Davos as it looks to meet new people, create connections and share its story that drives adoption and real world BTC use cases. The project has been operational since March 2022 and Poretti says that although he is in its infancy, it is about educating and demonstrating the usefulness of cryptocurrencies:
“This is about promoting crypto payments throughout the city by the city administration. Soon in Lugano you will be able to pay taxes, fines, whatever you pay to the municipality.”
Plan B merchants accept payments in their native LVGA token, Bitcoin and Lightning, as well as Tether (USDT). Sharing experiences with other industries, policymakers and public officials has been a focus this year, and Poretti says payments innovation has been approached with “small but very concrete steps” focused on providing different but complementary payment gateways.
“I think at the end of the day, if people see the benefits of having an alternative, it’s not something that it’s necessarily going to replace or replace.”
The Lugano cryptocurrency payments initiative could serve as a tangible case study for the adoption of decentralized payment options around the world, including within the WEF. That hasn’t happened yet, but representatives from other cities have asked Lugano for the “how and why” of his Plan B initiative, which Poretti describes as progress:
“We think it’s not about duplicating exactly the same approach in other parts of the world, but maybe it’s about taking inspiration from what we’ve done and learning something from our experience as well. I think that, in this sense, Lugano is still a bit of a pioneer.”
While Ripple and Circle were prominent participants from the cryptocurrency ecosystem involved in the WEF workshops, Poretti believes that a more open approach will be required for Lugano to come to the table and outline his cryptocurrency adoption efforts.
This requires many moving parts, including the involvement of financial and legal services, as well as political support for similar initiatives. Perhaps most importantly, Poretti believes that users will drive the discourse and adoption of solutions like Bitcoin:
“If your citizens are on board and say, ‘Let’s try, we’re curious, we’re open,’ then when we start to see the benefits.”
Poretti believes this drives job creation, stimulates economic growth and ensures technology and digital adoption.
Bitcoin Suisse was another Swiss-based cryptocurrency industry player that Cointelegraph managed to get in touch with in Davos. CEO Dr. Dirk Klee highlighted the company’s role in founding Crypto Valley and its early work in driving BTC adoption in Switzerland, which has become a leader in cryptocurrency adoption worldwide. world in many ways.
“I would call it the world headquarters for wealth management and early adopters, right? We are partly cryptonative, but we became rich people early on.”
Klee said that Switzerland’s reputation as a secure and well-regulated place to do business has also helped the local cryptocurrency ecosystem grow over time, while admitting that it’s an ongoing journey.
We have boots on the ground in Davos! Our reporter @gazza_jenks speaks to Dr. Dirk Klee, CEO of @BitcoinSuisseAG about Switzerland and the adoption of cryptocurrency at the @wef. #CTWEF23 pic.twitter.com/ka00dvWpVz
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 18, 2023
We have boots on the ground in Davos! Our reporter @gazza_jenks talks with Dr. Dirk Klee, CEO of @BitcoinSuisseAG about Switzerland and cryptocurrency adoption at @wef.
Highlighting difficult market conditions over the last year, Klee suggested that the industry is at a point where confidence needs to be built before considering further participation in events like the WEF:
“A lot of trust has been destroyed and eroded in the last year and we want to be sort of the focal point of the next stage of institutionalization, you know, making the place more accessible, more user-friendly, but also more secure.”
Klee also wants companies like Bitcoin Suisse to participate in cryptocurrency workshops at future WEF conferences, describing generalization as “the ultimate goal.”
Lugano and other Swiss regions are good examples of the adoption potential of cryptocurrencies for everyday payments. Furthermore, the presence of Plan B and Bitcoin Suisse at Davos demonstrates that the industry is driving its own conversations with stakeholders outside the walls of the World Economic Forum.
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