Google Cloud is the latest company to show interest in Bitcoin’s (BTC) Lightning Network. The $225 billion cloud and data service recently partnered with Voltage, an infrastructure provider specializing in Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
The partnership will enable one of the world’s largest cloud computing providers to launch Bitcoin-based services globally, while assisting Voltage’s business expansion. Voltage CEO Graham Krizek told Cointelegraph:
“Voltage is using Google Cloud to provide more services to our global customers. As a result, we have larger customers who need to deploy nodes in specific geographic regions such as the UK or Asia.”
Instead, Google could use “Voltage as their outsourced Bitcoin and Lightning team.” “We provide them with this business, actually, you know, helping companies that are interested in adding bitcoin or Lightning to their services,” he said.
The announcement garnered huge attention on social media, reflecting Google’s growing understanding and acceptance of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. But crucially, the impact of this partnership goes much further.
Christopher Caliccott, managing director of venture capital firm Tramell Venture Partners, told Cointelegraph, “We had some ex-Googlers say in the back channel (…) that it was an unexpected (social media) engagement , sure to get people’s attention.” Google. ”
Additionally, Google’s openness to the Lightning Network is the polar opposite of its competitor Apple. Apple recently removed Lightning-enabled decentralized social media protocol Damus from the App Store, showing its distaste for the Lightning Network. Calicot explained that the tech world may be warming up to the Lightning Network:
“Especially now that there are more and more businesses tinkering with Lightning. If they’re adjacent to payments, they ignore Lightning at their own peril.”
Google Cloud operates under the umbrella of its parent company, Alphabet. Payment platform Google Pay has hundreds of millions of users in more than 15 countries.
Since 2020, Google Ventures (GV), the investment arm of Google, has shown a strong interest in blockchain and Web3 companies, as well as Bitcoin.
GV participated in Voltage’s $6 million seed round in 2021. For Calicott, the interest in the cryptocurrency space from such a large player could be a sign of momentum:
“I hate to be overly critical of any particular company, but to me, like anything in life, when people put their money where their mouth is, it sends a very strong signal that they care Where.”
Krizek agreed, “I think it’s really an important signal to implement a more bitcoin-centric strategy at Google and the larger organization.”
Even though Apple killed its Lightning-enabled app Damus (much to the chagrin of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey), the Lightning Network is still gaining traction with billion-dollar businesses around the world. One of Mexico’s largest companies has begun experimenting with the Lightning Network, while two major cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, recently committed to Lightning integration.
related: The World’s Largest Bitcoin Conference: Decentralization via Cointelegraph
Still, it’s early days, and “we’ll have to watch this as it develops,” Calicott noted. Krizek, who has been involved in the Bitcoin space since 2012 and has seen its ups and downs, emphasized the importance of partnerships:
“As we started to show these organizations more about Bitcoin and what is possible with the Lightning Network, I think we got their attention and we had a lot of interest and demand.”
He added that more services should be launched in the near future, complemented by bitcoin education efforts.
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