Quick take:
- Google has collaborated with Coinabse to enable crypto payments for cloud services.
- The technology giant plans to roll out cryptocurrency support in early 2023.
- The search engine company is looking to lure more companies to its cloud services before its rivals embrace crypto.
Google has expanded its web3 campaign after announcing plans to integrate crypto payments for cloud services. The technology giant has collaborated with Coinbase to enable crypto support in early 2023.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of the search engine giant’s partnership with NEAR to provide technical support for NEAR grant recipients. Last month, Fortress Blockchain Technologies teamed up with Google Cloud to launch private data storage for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Google’s decision to introduce crypto payments for its cloud services is driven by the desire to get ahead of the competition and ramp up the growth of the unit. The company is looking to diversify its business to reduce the risk of exposure to digital advertising.
According to Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) latest quarterly results, the Cloud Services unit now accounts for about 9% of the revenue mix, up from less than 6% three years ago.
Enabling crypto payments could ramp up the growth of the unit by tapping into the rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies in the mainstream.
On the other hand, Coinbase is looking to leverage Google’s solid cloud infrastructure services to boost security for its customers. The crypto exchange platform receives a majority of its revenues from retail transactions powered by data apps hosted on Amazon Web Services.
The company will now move data-related applications from the leading cloud services platform to Google.
According to the announcement, Google Cloud Infrastructure will initially accept crypto payments from a few web3 customers willing to pay in cryptocurrencies before rolling out the service to the rest of the clients.
Dubbed the next generation of the internet, web3 leverages emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, decentralised apps and AR/VR to facilitate the development of community-owned applications.
Speaking to CNBC about the partnership, Amit Zavery, vice president and general manager and head of platform at Google Cloud, said: “Over time, Google will allow more customers to make payments with cryptocurrencies.”
Coinbase won the partnership at the expense of another potential suitor, PayPal, which also allows users to pay using crypto. But the internet giant opted for the more crypto-native company. “We did look at other companies for the cryptocurrency side of it,” Zavery said, adding that “Coinbase had the greatest capability.”
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