What Was Plan B Forum 2023?
Plan B Forum 2023 was a Bitcoin-only conference held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 20 and 21 October 2023. Organised in connection with the City of Lugano's own "Plan ₿" Bitcoin adoption initiative, it brought together Bitcoin developers, merchants, municipal officials, and global Bitcoiners to explore Bitcoin and Lightning Network adoption at a genuinely unique scale: an entire city actively promoting Bitcoin as a means of payment. The official page sat on the Plan B Forum site. As the flagship event of a municipal Bitcoin programme rather than a purely private conference, it occupied a distinctive position in the global Bitcoin calendar.
Lugano's Plan ₿ initiative remains one of the most ambitious municipal Bitcoin adoption efforts anywhere in the world. To follow similar events, check the crypto events calendar and our Bitcoin events list.
Key Themes at Plan B Forum
The agenda centred on Bitcoin at city scale:
- Municipal Bitcoin adoption and merchant acceptance.
- Lightning Network for everyday payments.
- Bitcoin education and public sector engagement.
- Self-custody and sovereignty.
The municipal-government involvement gave the conference an unusually official, civic character. Many guests also tracked broader blockchain events through CoinGabbar.
How Bitcoin Became Civic Policy in Lugano
Switzerland has long maintained one of the world's most sophisticated and crypto-friendly regulatory environments, with FINMA overseeing digital assets under a framework that treats blockchain applications with the same rigour as traditional banking while still encouraging genuine innovation. Switzerland's Crypto Valley in Zug had already established the country's reputation for blockchain-friendly policy years before Lugano's own initiative began.
Lugano took that friendliness a step further. In March 2021, the city launched Plan ₿, officially accepting Bitcoin and Tether for tax payments and municipal services, partnering with merchants citywide to accept Bitcoin via Lightning Network payments, and working directly with the Bitcoin Association to promote education and adoption. By the time of the 2023 forum, the city had spent over two years building genuine merchant infrastructure and public familiarity with Bitcoin payments, making Lugano a living case study rather than a theoretical adoption proposal. For more shows, see CoinGabbar's crypto conferences page.
Impact of Plan B Forum on Municipal Bitcoin Adoption
A forum tied directly to a city's own Bitcoin programme advances genuine adoption in ways private conferences cannot. It connects Bitcoin developers directly with public officials shaping civic policy. It showcases real merchant and payment infrastructure rather than theoretical use cases. And it offers other municipalities a working template for their own Bitcoin initiatives. Each edition deepens Lugano's case study value.
Why Sponsors, Exhibitors and Partners Should Join
Plan B Forum reached a uniquely civic-engaged Bitcoin audience. Strong fits included:
- Lightning payment processors: showcase real merchant infrastructure.
- Bitcoin education organisations: partner with municipal programmes.
- Bitcoin custody and hardware wallets: reach a sovereignty-focused civic audience.
- Other municipal governments: study Lugano's working adoption model.
- Swiss Bitcoin businesses: engage Crypto Valley's broader ecosystem.
To get involved, you can list your event with the CoinGabbar team.
Why KOLs, Media and Influencers Attend
A city genuinely running on Bitcoin payments is one of the global Bitcoin movement's most compelling real-world stories. Creators met the officials and merchants who built Lugano's working Plan ₿ infrastructure. Coverage can spread through the press release network.
Why Builders and Participants Join
For Lightning developers and Bitcoin payment builders, Plan B Forum offered access to one of the world's only cities actively running Bitcoin civic infrastructure. You met merchants using Lightning payments daily, engaged directly with municipal officials who had implemented Bitcoin tax payment options, and saw what genuine, sustained adoption looks like beyond pilot programmes. Many left with concrete lessons for replicating Lugano's model elsewhere.
Tickets and PR Offers With CoinGabbar
Building Bitcoin payment infrastructure or advising on civic adoption? CoinGabbar offers ticket discounts at partner events and free or discounted press release publishing for projects booked through us. To sponsor or add your event to our digital asset events list, email event@coingabbar.io.
How the Event Concluded and What Came Next
Plan B Forum 2023 closed with sessions grounded in Lugano's two-plus years of real Bitcoin civic infrastructure, offering other cities a genuine working template. The Plan ₿ initiative continued expanding merchant participation in the years that followed. By hosting the forum as the flagship event of an actual municipal Bitcoin programme, Lugano offered something rare in the Bitcoin conference circuit: proof rather than pitch. To follow what came next, see CoinGabbar's crypto summits page and our Web3 tech events list.
Glossary of Key Terms
- Plan ₿: the City of Lugano's official Bitcoin adoption initiative, launched in March 2021.
- FINMA: Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
- Lightning Network: a fast, low-cost Bitcoin payment layer enabling practical merchant payments.
- Crypto Valley: the blockchain innovation hub centred in Zug, Switzerland.
- Municipal adoption: a city government's formal acceptance and promotion of a currency or technology, as Lugano did with Bitcoin.
Disclaimer
This page is for general information only. It is not financial, legal, or tax advice. This is a Bitcoin conference that took place in October 2023; future dates and details may differ. Swiss crypto rules may change; always check current FINMA guidance. Please confirm with the official source and do your own research. Crypto assets are volatile and can lose value.
