Goldman Sachs has led blockchain payments startup Veem’s $25 million funding round. GV (formerly Google Ventures), Silicon Valley Bank, Kleiner Perkins and Pantera Capital also participated.

“We’re thrilled to have Goldman Sachs lead our investment round. This funding will help us expand our footprint, increase our distribution and form new strategic partnerships,” states Veem CEO and Founder Marwan Forzley.

The round, which follows a $24 million Series B round, brings Veem’s total amount raised to nearly $70 million. “What’s important about this round is the acknowledgement of the size of the opportunity, the size of the market, the size of the pain point that we’re solving for,” adds Forzley. “And it’s an endorsement of the growth that we’re experiencing.”

Forzley explains that the funds recently raised are earmarked for expansion to increase its distribution and form new strategic partnerships.

First Bitcoin startup to go public?

GV general partner Karim Faris, who believes Veem could be the first Bitcoin startup to go public, comments:  “It’s definitely not a strategic thing. It’s an opportunity to create a stand-alone company and in the process make a financial return on a good exit or an IPO (Initial Public Offering) down the line.”

Veem, founded in 2014, claims to be the first global payments platform to use blockchain technology for international money transfers. It combines blockchain with traditional SWIFT-based banking wire and treasury management rails into one product. The platform was designed to route money transfers efficiently without intermediary banks and associated banking fees.

Veem out to help small businesses

Veem’s mission is to benefit small businesses that are currently “forced to deal with a slow, outdated, and expensive wire transfer system to send and receive international payments”.

It adds that “SWIFT, a 40-year-old technology, consistently slaps small businesses with fees,  payments, and lacks the transparency necessary to ensure reliability and security”.