Google is partnering with Coinbase to let customers pay for its cloud services in “select” cryptocurrencies (via CNBC). According to Coinbase and Google, crypto-based payments will become available to customers in the Web3 space early next year to start.
To enable these payments, Google will use Coinbase Commerce, a tool that lets businesses receive, accept, and convert cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, Tether USD, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and others. As noted by CNBC, Coinbase will take a cut of transactions made through its commerce tool. Google plans on utilizing Coinbase Prime as well, an “institutional-grade” crypto trading platform primarily built for large companies, to store and trade cryptocurrencies.
As part of the deal, CNBC says Coinbase is moving some of its “data-related applications” from Amazon Web Services to Google Cloud. Google will also start using Coinbase Node, a tool that developers can use to gain access to blockchains and build decentralized apps, to power its BigQuery crypto public datasets. This aligns with Google’s goal of providing a back end for Web3 developers, which CNBC says Google formed a team for 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.
