More Veem, a cross-border payments platform that uses bitcoin to move funds among businesses without the need of banks, has raised $25 million in a round led by Goldman Sachs, according to Forbes. The service, which does not require either counterparty to hold bitcoin directly, has quadrupled its revenue in the past year. Also participating in the funding round were GV (previously known as Google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins, Pantera Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, and Trend Forward...

More BitPesa, a digital treasury management solution that leverages blockchain settlement to lower the cost and improve the speed of payments to and from frontier markets, has teamed with SBI Remit, Japan’s largest remittance service provider, to make it easier for Africans to buy Japanese products. The two firms are leveraging blockchain technology to reduce friction, improve efficiency and interoperability for cross-border payments between the two continents. The partnership will help...

More The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has stated its opposition to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s endorsement of regulatory “sandboxes” for fintech companies that essentially allow fintechs to receive special bank charters, according to a statement on its website by Maria T. Vullo, DFS superintendent and overseer for the state’s BitLicense regime. The New York DFS announced its opposition shortly after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent...

Delaware, in its bid to provide a good legal and regulatory environment for blockchain technology, has awarded a $738,000, single bid contract to IBM to build a prototype for a blockchain based corporate filing system for the state, according to delawareonline.com. Delaware’s corporate franchise business contributes more than 25% of the state’s revenue. Blockchain advocates in Delaware claim the technology’s safety will enable the state to levy higher document filing fees, and that Delaware...

More AP Moller – Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, has deployed the first blockchain platform for marine insurance, Insurwave, a joint venture between Guardtime, a software security provider, and Ernst & Young, an accounting firm. The platform is also being used by Willis Towers Watson, MS Amlin and XL Catlin. Maersk trialed the system and is using it for its marine hull insurance. Microsoft Azure provides the blockchain technology using ACORD standards, according to Seatrade...