Low tax Zug aims to become Switzerland's 'Crypto Valley'

An administrator demonstrates how to pay with Bitcoin at the Stadthaus town hall in Zug, Switzerland, August 30, 2016. Picture taken August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZUG, Switzerland: The small Swiss canton of Zug, famed for the low taxes that have drawn multinational companies and hedge funds to its lakeside shores, is trying to turn itself into a hub for virtual currency firms. 

Over the past half century Zug has transformed itself from "the poorhouse of Switzerland", sustained by fishing and manufacturing, into a headquarters for commodity giant Glencore and a home to the outposts of hundreds of global companies, becoming one of the country's wealthiest provinces.