Customers will be able to pay for Google's cloud services using "selected" cryptocurrencies thanks to a partnership with Coinbase (via CNBC). Customers in the Web3 market will be able to make cryptocurrency-based payments starting in the early part of next year, according to Coinbase and Google.
Google will use Coinbase Commerce, a technology that enables businesses to accept, exchange, and receive cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, Tether USD, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and others, to enable these payments. According to CNBC, Coinbase would deduct a percentage from any purchases done via its commerce platform. Google intends to store and sell cryptocurrencies using Coinbase Prime, a "institutional-grade" cryptocurrency trading platform primarily designed for big businesses.
According to CNBC, Coinbase will transfer some of its "data-related apps" from Amazon Web Services to Google Cloud as part of the agreement. In order to fuel its BigQuery crypto public datasets, Google will also begin utilising Coinbase Node, a programme that programmers can use to access blockchains and create decentralised apps. This is in line with Google's objective of giving Web3 developers a back end, for which CNBC reports that Google hired a team earlier this year.
“We want to make building in Web3 faster and easier, and this partnership with Coinbase helps developers get one step closer to that goal,” Thomas Kurian, the CEO of Google Cloud said in a statement. “We’re proud Coinbase has chosen Google Cloud as its strategic cloud partner, and we’re ready to serve the thriving global Web3 customer and partner ecosystem.”
Crypto has taken a major hit this year, with stablecoins falling from their dollar peg and major cryptocurrencies on a downward trend. At this time of writing, Bitcoin is down 59 percent for the year, while Ethereum is down 65 percent in 2022 following The Merge, a move to make the cryptocurrency’s network more energy-efficient.