Spain’s First Crypto-Friendly City Coming Soon

The Torrevieja administration announced a series of Web3 initiatives. In particular, local residents and businesses will have the opportunity to use crypto as a legal means of payment.

The Department of Commerce of Torrevieja City Council, a popular tourist hub in the Alicante province of Spain, together with the local Association of Small and Medium Merchants (APYMECO), outlined the city’s ambitious digital transformation project.

The initiative will see the region transformed into “the first crypto-friendly city in Europe.” The transformation will take place in three phases:

1. The first phase will focus on promoting the digitalization of local commerce, which contributes most to the region’s economy. The city council’s efforts will focus on encouraging the development of commercial relationships using blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Representatives of local businesses will be able to start accepting crypto payments for goods and services.
2. The second phase will introduce a range of sustainable initiatives based on blockchain innovations that will help restore natural spaces and positively impact the environment.
3. The third phase will center on increasing job opportunities, promoting businesses, and funding local tech companies. The plan is to significantly reduce unemployment in the region and improve the education of local blockchain talent.

Rosario Martínez Chazarra, Member of Torrevieja’s Department of Commerce, said the initiative could attract more merchants to the city, making the region more attractive to a variety of customers. She also noted that the University of Alicante will launch special digital payment courses for local businesses.

According to Jorge Almarcha, President of APYMECO, digital assets are allowed in Spain since 2015, but no city attempted to introduce cryptocurrencies into their economy until now. He encouraged local merchants to register to participate in the first phase of Torrevieja’s digital transformation. This can be done on the APYMECO’s official website.

Spain is a relatively open region for the crypto industry, but digital assets don’t have the status of legal tender in the country. On the other hand, local legislation obliges citizens to declare crypto-assets and pay taxes on profits.

Local officials’ plans to make Torrevieja the first crypto-friendly region in Europe ignore already existing projects, such as Lugano in Switzerland. Similarly crypto-friendly regions are being developed in Italy (Rovereto) and Portugal (Madeira).

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