Google Cloud Announces Partnership With Solana Rival Sui for Better AI, Security and Scalability Capabilities

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Google Cloud joins EigenLayer mainnet as node operator

April 10, 2024 The Crypto Briefing

Google Cloud Now a Polygon (MATIC) Network Validator Nearly a Year After Unveiling Same Service for Solana (SOL)

September 30, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Google Cloud adds 11 blockchains to data warehouse ‘BigQuery’

September 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Arbitrum

Google’s BigQuery added 11 new public datasets for blockchain networks, allowing users to obtain a variety of data from these networks.

Google Cloud’s BigQuery service just added 11 blockchains networks to its data warehouse, according to a September 21 blog post. The new networks include Avalanche, Arbitrum, Cronos, Ethereum Görli testnet, Fantom, Near, Optimism, Polkadot, Polygon mainnet, Polygon Mumbai testnet, and Tron.

We're enhancing our #blockchain data offering with 11 new chains in #BigQuery, and we’re also making improvements to our existing datasets, so they are more precise, accurate, and reliable.

Learn more ↓https://t.co/fNFJiHSJBO
— Google Cloud (@googlecloud) September 21, 2023

BigQuery is Google’s data warehouse service. Enterprise firms can use it to store their data and make queries of it. It also provides some public datasets that can be queried, including Google Trends, American Community Service demographic information, Google Analytics, and others.

In 2018, Google launched a Bitcoin dataset as part of the service, and later that year, it added Ethereum as well. It continued to expand its blockchain coverage in February of 2019, adding Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Zcash. The September 21 announcement means that BigQuery now carries data from a total of 19 blockchain networks.

In addition to adding these new blockchains, Google has also implemented a new feature intended to make blockchains queries easier to execute. Through a series of user-defined functions (UDFs), the team has provided methods to handle the long-form decimal results often found on blockchains. In its post, Google claimed that these new functions will “give customers access to longer decimal digits for their blockchain data and reduce rounding errors in computation.”

Google Cloud has been taking an increasing interest in blockchain tech in 2023. On July 7, it partnered with Voltage, a Lightning Network infrastructure provider. And it partnered with Web3 startup Orderly Network on September 14 to help provide off-chain components for decentralized finance.

Web3 is about solving business problems, not token prices: Google Cloud exec

September 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Node Engine

While TradFi is the main source of demand for blockchain tech, digital identity and supply chain are exciting areas too, according to Google Cloud Head of Web3 James Tromans.

The crypto industry is far too focused on token prices, rather than figuring out how smart contracts can be used to solve real-world business problems, according to Google Cloud's Web3 lead.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Google Cloud’s Head of Web3 James Tromans stressed the need to focus more on the business logic in the smart contract rather than the supply and demand dynamics of the token:

“What are the business problems that you want to get executed? When you're running a smart contract to execute some business logic to solve your business problem, you're using a token, but the token is not the thing, it’s the business problem that's the thing.”

“So I would like us to get away from all this talk about tokens and token speculation as if that is Web3 — that is not Web3,” Tromans added.

One of Google Cloud’s main blockchain services is its Blockchain Node Engine, offering users a self-hosted node to access blockchain data, conduct transactions, build smart contracts and run decentralized applications.

Tromans argued that blockchain and smart contracts can lead to innovation, lower operational costs and new revenue streams.

*Google Cloud’s James Troman in a recent interview at Token 2049 in Singapore. Source: Google Cloud*

Despite the bear market, Tromans said Google Cloud has still seen strong demand from enterprises looking to integrate blockchain technology:

“Over the past 12 to 15 months in the traditional enterprise space, interest in leveraging blockchain technology to improve efficiency, reduce cost and improve the speed of innovation hasn't gone away.”

Most of this demand has come from the TradFi sector to solve basic finance and accounting problems, Tromans explained. But Google Cloud customers are increasingly looking at integrating blockchain-based solutions in digital identity and supply chain, he added.

Digital ID in particular has been a hot topic of debate in the Web3 world of late, with the recent launch of Worldcoin on Jul. 24 — an iris biometric cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in 2019.

Blockchain tech isn’t invisible enough

Tromans however argues that blockchain tech won't likely see mass adoption, at least until user experience improves.

“If the average end user, who isn't a computer scientist, who doesn't understand blockchain, has to know about their private keys — we've got it wrong. They have to be abstracted away,” he explained.

“When you load the Web browser, you're using a bunch of high tech capabilities like TCP-IP and HTTPS. None of these protocols mean anything to most people,” Tromans added, suggesting that Web3 should strive for the same thing.

Tromans said Web3 developers will need to build frictionless solutions to help users recover private keys and help take care of their data for them to have a “fantastic” user experience.

Thank you @savannah_fortis for a great fireside discussion at #ProofOfTalk in Paris this week. https://t.co/U3BjAU878k
— James Tromans (@jmtromans) June 16, 2023

When user experience is optimized, blockchain technology will solve problems in a range of industries, he said.

“When this technology is solving for payment, helping games have lower cost or helping artists be more creative and get paid for their work so they can have careers but not actually have to know about how the technology is functioning, that's critical [and] very, very important for the wide scale adoption of the technology.”

“When Web3 hits mass adoption, we won't call it Web3. We'll just call it the web again,” he said.

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Google Launches ‘Anti Money Laundering AI’ in Collaboration With Banking Giant HSBC

June 26, 2023 The Daily Hodl

AIs and fries: Wendy’s to trial chatbot drive-thru operator

May 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

artificial intelligence

Wendy’s says its "FreshAI" bot reduces costs allowing funds to be focused elsewhere, others worry that eventually, those less skilled will be jobless.

An artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot dubbed "Wendy’s FreshAI," will take orders from Wendy's drive-thru customers after the fast-food chain partnered with Google Cloud to create the bot.

Over three-quarters of Wendy’s customers prefer to place their orders via drive-thru, according to a May 9 announcement from Google Cloud and the Tech Giant claimed using a chatbot to service these customers will “revolutionize the quick service restaurant industry.”

AI chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT use natural language processing to understand what people are saying, and then use machine learning algorithms to generate a response.

"Generative AI helps companies transform applications and services. @Wendys is at the forefront of applying #generativeAI into their business in ways that help transform the customer, employee, and overall restaurant experience"—@MaribelLopez https://t.co/bS2IQXZdWU
— Google Cloud (@googlecloud) May 9, 2023

In a statement to Wall Street Journal, Wendy’s CEO and president Todd Penegor said the chatbot “will be very conservational,” adding “you won’t know you’re talking to anybody but an employee.”

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian noted, however, there many challenges associated with using chatbots to service drive-thru customers though, and said:

“You may think driving by and speaking into a drive-through is an easy problem for AI, but it’s actually one of the hardest”

The diversity of customers' orders is one challenge that Wendy’s and Google Cloud will have to overcome, as many customers might call menu items by a different name or have special requests. Additionally, the chatbot will also have to filter out any background noise.

To help refine the AI chatbot before it is rolled out to multiple stores, Wendy’s FreshAI will undergo a pilot launch at a Columbus, Ohio, restaurant in June. Customers will still have the option to speak to a human too.

Not everyone is impressed with the announcement though, with some arguing it's the latest way companies are “systematically eradicating jobs” and highlighted teenagers and others who are less skilled looking to gain employment would be the most affected by the change.

@Wendys joining the ever growing list of companies systemically eradicating jobs. Guess high school kids can just suck it for part time jobs to give them a start in the world. Enjoy your AI and bankruptcy. I'm not talking to a computer. #DeathofFastFood pic.twitter.com/BbggeblhOz
— -PAPatriot--- (@PAPatriot14) May 10, 2023

While AI has enormous potential to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce costs in various industries, its unprecedented growth has many worried that it will bring about massive falls in employment as AI is used for tasks previously assigned to humans.

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Crypto Biz: Google bullish on blockchain, UK’s $125M AI pledge, Voyager and Binance

April 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Google expanding its Web3 program, the U.K.’s $125 AI pledge, FTX selling LedgerX and Binance.US backing out of its Voyager purchase.

At the intersection of tech and cryptocurrency news, the Google for Startups Cloud Program has expanded to include 11 blockchain firms. Together, the entities will provide grants, expertise and services to emerging Web3 entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom government has allocated $125 million in funding for a task force aimed at accelerating the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) readiness. The task force will focus on ensuring sovereign capabilities, such as public services, and fostering the adoption of safe and reliable AI foundation models.

In other headlines, troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX is set to sell its LedgerX futures and options exchange and clearinghouse for around $50 million to private equity investment office M7 Holdings, subject to court approval. Meanwhile, Binance.US has backed out of its agreement to purchase Voyager Digital’s assets, worth $1 billion, citing a “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.”

This week’s Crypto Biz: Google expanding its Web3 program, U.K. pledging $125 million for an AI task force, FTX selling LedgerX for $50 million and Binance.US backs out of $1 billion Voyager asset purchase.

Google Cloud broadens Web3 startup program with 11 blockchain firms

Google for Startups Cloud Program has expanded to include 11 Web3 blockchain partners, such as Alchemy, Polygon, Celo and Hedera. Blockchain analytics company Nansen also announced that it has partnered with Google Cloud to provide real-time blockchain data for startups as part of the program. As part of the new Cloud Program, pre-seed Web3 startups can receive up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits valid for two years, while seeded startups can access $200,000 over two years for Google Cloud and Firebase usage. Additionally, blockchain partners are offering grants of up to $3 million to seeded companies in the Google for Startups Cloud Program. Nansen will also use its database of over 250 million wallet labels to provide startups with real-time intelligence.

Calling seed to series A Web3 projects & startups:

Want to get up to $200K in ☁️ credits & exclusive benefits?
✅ Gated Discord channel with Google Cloud Web3 product & engineering
✅ Early access to Web3 products & roadmap
✅ Free advanced Web3 training
✅ VIP event access
— Google Cloud (@googlecloud) April 25, 2023

UK pledges nearly $125M to create ‘safe AI’ taskforce

The U.K. government has announced that it is providing 100 million pounds ($125 million) in initial funding to support a task force aimed at accelerating the country's readiness for AI. The task force is aimed at ensuring “sovereign capabilities,” which include public services, and fostering the adoption of "safe and reliable foundation models." This coincides with the U.K.’s commitment to becoming a science and technology superpower by 2030. The task force is expected to launch its first pilots of AI usage and integration targeting public services in the next six months. The U.K. is also pushing for “safe AI,” which aims to regulate technology to “keep people safe” without limiting innovation.

FTX sells LedgerX for $50M to affiliate of Miami-based exchange holding company

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has agreed to sell its LedgerX futures and options exchange and clearinghouse to M7 Holdings, an affiliate of Miami International Holdings, for around $50 million. The deal, which is subject to approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, is scheduled to be heard in court on May 4. The purchase of LedgerX is part of FTX’s ongoing efforts to monetize assets and deliver recoveries to stakeholders. FTX purchased LedgerX in August 2021 to expand its spot trading services. The FTX exchange is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Binance.US backs out of $1B Voyager asset purchase, blames regulatory environment

Binance.US has backed out of its agreement to purchase bankrupt cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital’s assets for $1 billion. The exchange blamed the move on the “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.” The Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors tweeted its disappointment at the news and said it was investigating potential claims against Binance.US. Voyager and the creditors' committee have said they would now work on distributing cash and crypto to customers directly via the Voyager platform. Voyager declared bankruptcy in July 2021.

https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS has made the difficult decision to exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager.

While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager's customers access their crypto in kind, the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate…
— Binance.US (@BinanceUS) April 25, 2023

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Google Cloud to optimize Polygon zkEVM scaling performance

April 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Polygon Labs and Google Cloud will team up in a multi-year agreement to drive the development and adoption of the Ethereum scaling protocol’s infrastructure and developer tools.

Polygon Labs and Google Cloud announced a multi-year partnership at Consensus 2023 that will see the cloud computing service provider help boost the development of the Ethereum (ETH) scaling protocol’s tools and infrastructure.

Polygon’s core protocols, including Polygon PoS (proof-of-stake), Polygon zkEVM and Polygon Supernets, are set to benefit from the provision of Google Cloud’s framework and developer tools. The partnership is aimed at simplifying developer integration to build, launch and grow Web3 products and decentralized applications (DApp) on Polygon.

Google Cloud’s partnership with the ecosystem is expected to advance Polygon’s zero-knowledge development. Testing of Polygon zkEVM’s zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs) on Google Cloud reportedly resulted in faster and cheaper transactions compared to the existing infrastructure available.

The Polygon zkEVM beta, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) scaling solution, was launched to mainnet in March 2023, powering reduced transaction costs and increased throughput of smart contract deployments.

Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine will be used by the Polygon ecosystem to assist with time-intensive processes and costly overheads of acquiring, maintaining and operating dedicated blockchain nodes. This specific integration intends to remove the need for Polygon developers to configure and run Polygon PoS nodes.

Polygon Labs president Ryan Wyatt highlighted the wide variety of benefits to the protocol’s ecosystem through the partnership in a statement coinciding with the roll out of the collaboration:

“Today's announcement with Google Cloud aims to increase transaction throughput enabling use cases in gaming, supply chain management, and DeFi.”

Google Cloud’s APAC managing director of engineering and Web3 go-to-market Mitesh Agarwal said its services are improving data availability, resilience and performance of scaling protocols like zk-proofs.

The partnership will also provide capital resources to Polygon ecosystem developers and companies building Web3 products and DApps. Certain early-stage Polygon Ventures-backed startups will also be able to receive newly-launched Web3-specific benefits from the Google for Startups Cloud Program.

Google Cloud’s startup accelerator program now supports 11 major blockchain firms. Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Nansen also announced that its data services would be available to projects in Google Cloud’s Web3 startup program.

Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable

Google Cloud to Become Tezos Validator and Offer Validation Services

February 24, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Google Cloud

Blockchain tech isn’t invisible enough

Google Cloud broadens Web3 startup program with 11 blockchain firms

UK pledges nearly $125M to create ‘safe AI’ taskforce

FTX sells LedgerX for $50M to affiliate of Miami-based exchange holding company

Binance.US backs out of $1B Voyager asset purchase, blames regulatory environment

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