A government-backed Blockchain consortium has launched in Zug, Switzerland with the aim of “supporting the development of Blockchain and cryptographic related technologies and businesses.”

The Crypto Valley Association, under the leadership of former UBS Group CIO Oliver Bussman, includes such prestigious members as PwC and Thomson Reuters, as well as a plethora of disruptive fintech startups including ConsenSys.

“The association will support startups and established enterprises through policy recommendations, initiating and enabling research projects, organizing conferences, hackathons and other industry events,” an accompanying press release stated Wednesday.

“Blockchain and cryptographic related technologies and businesses are the wave of the future,” Bussmann commented.

“With the founding of Crypto Valley Association, we are promoting more than a region: we have founded a global association as a base for the sector’s most innovative and forward thinking companies, further strengthening Switzerland’s position as a leading center of innovation in this sector.”

The launch continues Switzerland’s - and particularly Zug’s - mounting tradition of being a home for innovative financial technology.

The canton’s administration last year moved to allow payment of government services in Bitcoin, against a broader backdrop of increasingly favorable regulation for Blockchain startups at a national level.

“The formation of the Crypto Valley Association has already engaged local government, startups, venture capital and larger corporations. This gives us access to a pipeline of interesting startups, talent and an opportunity to participate directly in initiatives driving the technology,” Thomson Reuters President Financial & Risk Business David Craig added.