The government of the Spanish city of Aragon has allocated over 12 million euros ($13 million) for the development of “Industry 4.0,” which includes blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies. The news was announced by local news outlet La Vanguardia on Feb. 12. The funds —  the amount of which is reportedly…

The governor of California Gavin Newsom supported the development of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI)-based products in his “State of the State” speech, local news outlet CALmatters reported on Feb. 12. In his speech delivered on Tuesday, Feb. 12, Newsom said that “California needs a comprehensive statewide strategy to uplift and upskill our workers, to…

From Jan. 29 to 30, Tehran hosted the eighth annual conference on Electronic Banking and Payment Systems, which was promoted by the Monetary and Banking Research Institution, the research arm of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). Among the announced topics under the theme of the “Blockchain Revolution,” it was the unveiling of the Iranian…

Intel has launched a commercial blockchain package based on the Hyperledger ecosystem, according to marketing materials published on Feb. 12. Intel, which is a member of the Hyperledger collaboration — hosted by the Linux Foundation along with IBM and other major financial institutions — has announced that its new product is designed for businesses that…

South Korea’s largest foreign exchange bank — Korea Exchange Bank (KEB Hana Bank) —  has announced that it has filed 46 patent applications for business models related to blockchain, business technology news website ZDNet reports on Feb. 13. KEB Hana Bank, a part of the Hana Financial Group (HFG) — one of the largest bank…

The Italian Banking Association (ABI) is now testing a blockchain interbank solution based on blockchain consortium R3’s open-source distributed ledger platform Corda, fintech news outlet FinExtra reports on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The ABI states that the platform has been developed together with its technical partners — R3, Japanese IT firm NTT Data and Italian ICT…

Former JPMorgan Chase executive Etienne Amic has been appointed as new CEO at Vakt, a blockchain-based commodity post-trade platform, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 13. Having served as a managing director at both JPMorgan Chase and Mercuria Energy Trading S.A., Amic is expected to bring direct experience in commodities trading…

Prestigious United States public school University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) has launched a 12-week accelerator program for early stage blockchain startups. The launch was reported in an official announcement published on Jan. 28. The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is partly sponsored by venture capital fund Berkeley X-Lab Fund and is reportedly the result of cooperation…

The South Korean city of Busan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with blockchain company Hyundai Pay, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. According to the announcement, South Korea’s second most populous city after Seoul and Hyundai Pay, a company that developed a blockchain platform and a cryptocurrency wallet, will cooperate…

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has officially announced it will launch a new blockchain-based payment system, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. The world’s fifth-largest bank is working on the project in partnership with United States content delivery network Akamai, with the aim to launch in H1 2020. Dubbed the “Global…

The founder and CEO of retail giant Overstock.com Patrick Byrne says that blockchain can make government “superefficient and incapable of being bribed,” in an interview with MarketWatch published on Feb. 12. Byrne reportedly said that government services have reached a turning point for a fundamental change of their structure, and blockchain technology, in his opinion,…

Finance platform SDK.finance has partnered with Oracle to use the Oracle Blockchain Platform to improve payments processes and remove intermediaries. The partnership was announced in a press release published on Feb. 12. SDK.finance is a European-based fintech startup that offers a payment platform for banks and financial institutions. In 2015, the company was reportedly recognized…

A new blockchain protocol is presenting itself as a place where businesses and individuals can build peer-to-peer financial applications with confidence. Bytom describes itself as the “infrastructure of the asset internet.” The company’s vision is to create diverse assets and a programmable economy and ensure that byte assets (such as cryptocurrencies and digital assets) and…

The Canadian unit of American tech giant IBM has partnered with pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim to deploy blockchain in clinical recordkeeping, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. The cooperation between the two companies aims to test whether the integration of blockchain technology with clinical recordkeeping provides the proper level of data integrity,…

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has delayed further work on a successful blockchain project in the wake of Brexit, according to a written parliamentary statement published Feb. 7. The question about the distributed ledger project for customs needs was raised in the Q&A section on the United Kingdom Parliament’s website. On Jan. 30, Member…

The Chinese government has issued the “Guiding Opinions on Rural Service Revitalization of Financial Services,” according to an official announcement on Feb. 11. The new framework is part of a plan to improve the efficiency of financial services for the country’s rural revitalization program. The guidance will purportedly help promote the application of new technologies…

Global computer tech giant Oracle is expanding features on its enterprise-grade Oracle Blockchain Platform, the firm announced in a press release on Feb. 12. The platform’s new capabilities reportedly intend to simplify the process of integrating existing business and IT systems, as well as to speed up development and deployment of new blockchain applications. The…

Major global online payments firm Netpay International has partnered with Israeli firm BNC LedgerTech to integrate blockchain into its services, Finance Magnates reported on Feb. 12. Netpay International will reportedly become the fourth fintech firm to use BNC LedgerTech’s digital, blockchain-based banking solution “Ubanker.” By using the blockchain-based tool, Netpay International will reportedly cut operation…

New York-based blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by venture capital giant Accel, the company confirmed in a post on Feb. 12. The fresh funding will reportedly be used to expand Chainalysis’ corporate operations, which include a proprietary Know Your Customer (KYC) product that allows financial…

Russian shipping logistics company Infotech Baltika will develop a blockchain-based system for the ports in which it operates, Russian maritime news outlet Morvesti reported on Feb. 11. To develop the blockchain-based solution, dubbed Edge.Port, the firm has partnered with Moscow-based blockchain startup Iconic. The network will reportedly allow participants in port activity to store all…

United States digital asset firm Morgan Creek Digital has secured $40 million in funding from investors that include two major pension funds, Bloomberg reported Feb. 12, citing a statement from the company. Morgan Creek Digital, which launched its Digital Asset Index Fund in August last year, sealed the funding from two of the three benefit…