Lucerne brings to mind the Chapel Bridge, Mount Pilatus and coach parties – not bitcoin. Yet the city has something Basel, Bern and Geneva lack: a cantonal bank that does not just offer crypto but keeps building on it. When it comes to spending bitcoin or finding an ATM, though, Lucerne is small fry. This page covers both sides, with numbers – for residents, for expats who have just opened a local bank account and for visitors passing through.
LUKB: crypto at the cantonal bank
Since early March 2024, clients of Luzerner Kantonalbank (LUKB) have been able to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies in e-banking. The bank has expanded the service several times since, and it now covers nine coins: bitcoin, ether, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Polygon, Aave and the A cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a government currency such as the US dollar. USDT and USDC are the best known. USDC and USDT. That last one is notable, because many Swiss banks – PostFinance among them – do not offer USDT at all.
LUKB holds the coins in its own custody infrastructure, which uses Multi-party computation: the private key is split into several pieces that never come together in one place, so there is no single point of failure., and states explicitly that it does not lend out client holdings. The coins are kept off the balance sheet and would be segregated if the bank failed. Trades are settled in US dollars with no currency surcharge. Since 1 October 2024 bitcoin and ether can be transferred in and out – a first for a traditional Swiss bank, according to LUKB. One catch for American expats: US persons are excluded from the service.
What it costs
The trading fee is tiered, with no minimum charge. Custody and transfer fees come on top:
| Item | Condition | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Trading | up to CHF 10,000 | 1.80% |
| Trading | CHF 10,000–50,000 | 1.55% |
| Trading | CHF 50,000–100,000 | 1.25% |
| Trading | CHF 100,000–990,000 | 1.00% |
| Custody | per year, in the e-custody account | 0.60% plus VAT |
| Transfer in | from CHF 5,000 per coin | free |
| Transfer out | from CHF 1,000 per coin | CHF 80 plus VAT |
A worked example shows where the costs lie. Buy CHF 1,000 of bitcoin and you pay CHF 18 in trading fees. Leave it there for a year and CHF 6 of custody fees plus VAT are added. If you then want to move the bitcoin to your own wallet, the transfer costs CHF 80 plus VAT – more than four times the cost of buying. For people who want to hold their own keys, LUKB therefore makes most sense with larger amounts. If you stay with the bank, you get convenience instead: crypto holdings appear on the bank’s tax statement.
Savings plan from CHF 10 and loans against bitcoin
The crypto investment plan works like a standing order: from CHF 10, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, set up in e-banking. Each plan invests in one cryptocurrency, but you can open several. That makes a Dollar-cost averaging: investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price, which smooths out your average purchase price over time. approach possible with very small amounts.
In September 2025 LUKB also launched a A loan secured by pledged assets – here bitcoin or ether. If their value falls sharply, you must add collateral or sell. against bitcoin and ether, describing itself as the first Swiss universal bank to do so. Clients get cash without selling their coins. Because of volatility, the bank applies “deliberately conservative loan-to-value ratios”; it does not publish the percentages. A loan like this can force a sale at the worst moment in a crash, so ask about the loan-to-value ratio and margin-call rules before you sign.
LUKB or an alternative?
| LUKB | PostFinance | Relai | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coins | 9, incl. USDT | 22, no USDT | bitcoin only |
| Trading fee | 1.80% up to CHF 10,000 | 0.95% | 1% plus spread |
| Custody | 0.60% a year plus VAT | 0.15% a year plus VAT | own wallet, no fee |
| Savings plan | from CHF 10 | from USD 50 | CHF 100 a month fee-free |
| Own wallet | transfer out CHF 80 | not stated officially | from day one |
Without an LUKB account there are other routes online: CEX.IO (operating since 2013, with group entities registered in the US and UK; Swiss residents contract with an entity in Nevis, and you pay by card or in euros, not Swiss francs), Kraken with free Swiss franc deposits via SIC, or the bitcoin app Relai. An overview of banks: crypto banks in Switzerland.
Not an LUKB client and no wish to switch banks? An online account is the alternative.
Operating since 2013Group registered with FinCEN (US) and the FCA (UK)
ATM, SBB and Swiss Post
BTC Map lists just one crypto ATM in Lucerne: at Friedenstrasse 2, labelled “Rothbard”. A trade article describes Rothbard as an intermediary rather than an operator, and we could not establish who actually runs the machine. A Bitcoin Suisse ATM at a bureau de change on Habsburgerstrasse, once reported by the local press, no longer appears on any recent map. We had no Coin ATM Radar figure for Lucerne.
The classics are more dependable. Every SBB ticket machine at Lucerne station sells bitcoin and ether as paper wallets for CHF 20 to 500, provided by SweePay AG of Zug and only with a Swiss mobile number (details). At a post office counter you pay a QR slip generated by Mt Pelerin’s Bridge Wallet in cash, without ID up to CHF 999 per 30 days. Machines, limits and mark-ups: bitcoin ATMs in Switzerland.
Paying with bitcoin – even as a visitor?
Lucerne lives on tourism, but the bitcoin map does not reflect it. BTC Map shows nine entries within four kilometres, nearly all of them verified by volunteers:
- Just a little Brewpub, Blumenweg 1 – a bar.
- Hafenbar zur Metzgerhalle, Baselstrasse 1.
- das weisse schaf, Frankenstrasse 2 – a bar, though its map entry is older, so ask first.
- MeinRad, Voltastrasse 42 – a snack bar.
- Spar, Bleicherstrasse 12, and Spar, Seetalstrasse 98 in Emmen – both taking A payment network built on top of bitcoin. Payments settle in seconds and usually cost a fraction of a cent..
- Plus a health practice at Industriestrasse 3 and a Stuwo student residence.
We found no hotels, souvenir shops, lake boats or mountain railways accepting bitcoin. With a Lightning wallet you can pay at Spar and in the bars listed; for everything else, it is card or cash.
Universities: from bitcoin tuition fees to Rotkreuz
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) was an early mover: in autumn 2017 it began accepting bitcoin for tuition fees – the first Swiss university to do so, as far as it knew. Payments ran through Bitcoin Suisse, which carried the exchange-rate risk and converted them into francs; the 1% fee was paid by the student. We could not confirm whether the option still exists.
HSLU’s blockchain research, however, is not in Lucerne but on the Zug-Rotkreuz campus – in the canton of Zug. That is where the HSLU Blockchain Lab and the Institute of Financial Services Zug (IFZ) are based; the IFZ publishes an annual crypto assets study. The University of Lucerne, together with HSLU, leads the “Blockchain Zug” research initiative, which the canton of Zug is funding with CHF 39.35 million over five years. Rotkreuz also hosts the Crypto Valley Conference – see our page on Crypto Valley Zug.
Community and meetups
Bitcoin Association Switzerland runs a regular bitcoin meetup in Lucerne, with dates on Meetup.com. The Einundzwanzig Luzern group also meets, organised via Telegram and Instagram. Both welcome beginners and are often the quickest way to find out which businesses really accept bitcoin; expect mostly German or Swiss German. Around the city, BTC Map also lists a computer shop in Sempach Station, the Rössli restaurant in Küssnacht am Rigi and several Spar shops in Stans, Buchrain and Hochdorf.
Tax in the canton of Lucerne
Lucerne’s tax office looked at crypto early: as far back as 2017, its “Steuer+Praxis” publication stated under the heading “Bitcoin und Co.” that cryptocurrencies are taxable assets to be listed on the securities schedule. Practical notes on crypto assets followed in 2024, which we were not able to review in detail. In principle, the ESTV rules that apply across Switzerland hold: coins are subject to A cantonal tax on your net assets at 31 December. Crypto counts, just like shares or bank balances. at the ESTV year-end rate, private capital gains are tax-free, and income from staking or lending is taxable.
Handy for LUKB clients: the bank lists crypto holdings on its tax statement, which simplifies filing. Coins in your own wallet you declare yourself. The national rules: crypto tax in Switzerland; the practical guide: declaring crypto on your tax return.
Nearby
Crypto Valley starts practically on the doorstep: Zug, with its crypto firms and taxes payable in bitcoin, is a short train ride away. For more ATMs and merchants, head to Zurich. Every region at a glance: crypto across Swiss regions.
