Google Cloud is the latest company to show interest in Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning. The $225-billion cloud and data service recently partnered with Voltage, an infrastructure provider specializing in the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The partnership will allow one of the world’s largest cloud computing providers to roll out Bitcoin-based services worldwide while assisting the expansion of Voltage’s operations. Graham Krizek, CEO of Voltage, told Cointelegraph:
“Voltage is leveraging Google Cloud to go to service our customers more globally. So, we have larger customers that need nodes deployed in specific geographic regions like the U.K. or Asia.”
Conversely, Google can use “Voltage as sort of their outsourced Bitcoin and lightning team.” He said, “We service that business for them of actually, you know, helping companies that are interested in adding Bitcoin or Lightning into their services.”
The announcement received significant traction on social media and reflects Google’s growing understanding and acceptance of Bitcoin and Lightning. But crucially, the implications of the partnership run deeper.
Christopher Calicott, managing director of venture capital firm Tramwell Partners, told Cointelegraph, “We had some people that were former Googlers in backchannels […] saying this is the kind of unexpected [social media] engagement that definitely gets people’s attention at Google.”
Moreover, Google’s open-minded approach to Lightning diametrically opposes that of its competitor, Apple. Apple delisted Damus, the Lightning-friendly decentralized social media protocol, from the App Store recently, demonstrating an aversion to Lightning. Calicott explained that the tech world could be warming up to Lightning:
“There is a growing and broad-based corporate tinkering with Lightning in particular right now. If they’re adjacent to payments, they would ignore Lightning at their peril.”
Google Cloud operates under the umbrella of its parent company, Alphabet. The payments platform Google Pay boasts hundreds of millions of users in more than 15 countries.
Since 2020, the investment arm of Google, Google Ventures (GV), has shown a robust interest in blockchain and Web3 companies, as well as Bitcoin.
GV participated in a $6-million seed round for Voltage in 2021. For Calicott, the interest of such a big player in the crypto space could be a sign of growing momentum:
“I hate to over-index on any one particular corporation here, but just for me,…
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