Google Cloud Launches L1 Blockchain for Financial Infrastructure

Google Cloud has unveiled its Layer-1 blockchain platform, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), marking a significant foray into blockchain infrastructure for financial institutions. The system, currently operating on a private testnet, supports tokenized assets, settlements, and Python-based smart contracts—a notable departure from Ethereum's Solidity-centric ecosystem.

The initiative traces back to a March pilot with CME Group, where the companies explored tokenization and wholesale payments without explicitly framing it as an L1 solution. Rich Widmann, Google Cloud's global Web3 strategy lead, later confirmed GCUL's positioning as neutral financial infrastructure—drawing parallels to institutional projects by Circle and Stripe.

Unlike corporate-specific networks, GCUL aims to serve multiple banks and partners with features like 24/7 capital markets operation and native commercial bank money on-chain. This development signals Big Tech's accelerating convergence with decentralized finance primitives.