Tech Giant Google Cloud is Developing its Payments Blockchain

TL;DR

• Google Cloud is developing its own blockchain for payments.

• The blockchain is currently in private testnet.

Google Cloud is Working on its Payments Blockchain

Google Cloud, the cloud computing arm of tech giant Google, is currently developing its own blockchain network, named Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), for the financial sector. This is according to  Rich Widmann, Google Cloud's Web3 Head of Strategy.

While announcing this in a LinkedIn post, Widmann stated that the platform is designed to provide financial institutions with a "performant, credibly neutral" blockchain platform that enables Python-based smart contracts. He added that,

“GCUL brings together years of R&D at Google to provide financial institutions with a novel Layer 1 that is performant, credibly neutral, and enables Python-based smart contracts. It's why institutions like the CME Group chose the Universal Ledger to explore tokenization and payments on one of the largest commodities exchanges in the world, leveraging GCUL.”

The Google Cloud exec added that GCUL is currently in a private testnet, with the company set to reveal further details on a later date. 

The company believes that GCUL is a new service for the financial market, accessible through a single API and programmable to enable payment automation and digital asset management. However, the platform will not be open source as it will operate as a private, permissioned system while focusing on compliance. 

As a private, permissioned system, many within the crypto ecosystem argue that GCUL is not a decentralized blockchain despite being a layer-1 network. 

Similar to other tech giants, Google Cloud has been expanding its footprint within the crypto space, with key partnerships with projects such as Injective, Sui, Wormhole, and Fantom Foundation (now Sonic Labs).