I go to get a haircut and when it’s time to pay I notice next to the cash register a series of options not to do it in cash. From PostFinance to Twint. But I don’t see any of the cryptocurrencies on which the City of Lugano is banking: I therefore ask the hairdresser for explanations. “Those are scams”, his unappealing response. Another round of the carousel takes me to drink a coffee at the corner bar where, instead, a sign on the counter informs that Bitcoin, LVGA and Tether are accepted. But is there anyone who uses them to pay for drinks? “There are customers who do it regularly,” explains the bartender. In a jewelry store, on the other hand, even without giving me as clear-cut answers as the hairdresser’s, they say they don’t accept them. They get away with saying that “it’s still too early”. In perfect line, if we want, with the flop of ‘CryptoNassa’ which sanctioned – as recently written in laRegione – the refusal of the Lugano luxury street to become the first of its kind in the world.
Michele Foletti, however, does not lose heart and continues with the project of making Lugano one of the capitals of digital finance. “A bridge between old finance and new finance”, the mayor’s leitmotif. Many insiders confirm that there is greater interest, despite the considerable volatility of cryptocurrencies. Precisely what contributes to slowing down the investments of traditional operators. It is true that shortly before mid-November Bitcoin exceeded 80 thousand dollars, but it is equally true that its history resembles a roller coaster ride. In September, for example, it traded just above 56 thousand dollars. Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections certainly contributed to boosting Bitcoin, thanks also to the presence at his side of that scoundrel Elon Musk, with whom The Donald shares the goal of making the United States “the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.”
It should also be remembered that not far from the US border, in Central America, there is already a nation that has already converted to Bitcoin in combination with the dollar, to the point of having made it its national currency. We are talking about El Salvador, whose president, the 43-year-old Nayib Bukele, also known for his ruthless war on Mara Salvatrucha and the other drug gangs that have bloodied Salvadoran life for years, is convinced that the digital currency “will improve life and the future of millions of people.” Close to Trump, with whom he was one of the first to congratulate on his re-election, Bukele is popular in his country for having drastically reduced its crime rate, less so for his project with Bitcoin. “There is a glaring gap between promises and reality”, the result of a report by journalist Katarina Hall, sent to the Central American country by the US monthly Reason. Although Bitcoin was introduced in 2021, according to data collected by the reporter, 92% of the population does not use it. Because “they don’t understand how it works nor are they interested in learning how to use it”. For the moment, Bukele’s monetary vision clashes with the more down-to-earth attitude of his people. In short, the world is full of hairdressers who are not inclined to revolutions.
