Google Cloud to add support for Solana at the start of next year

Google Cloud is adding support for the Solana blockchain in BigQuery, to make it easier to access Solana data. It is also working on bringing Solana support to its Blockchain Node Engine.

Support for Solana will go live in the first quarter of next year, Nalin Mittal, Web3 lead for Google Cloud, said at Breakpoint, Lisbon.

Google Cloud is already running a Solana validator, Mittal said. It is learning more about the blockchain by doing this and working out how to make it more cost-efficient.

This experience is helping Google Cloud prepare to add the network to Blockchain Node Engine, its service for offering managed blockchain nodes. According to Mittal, this was its first Web3 product, noting its launch was when Google Cloud “really deepened our investment in this space.”

This January, Google Cloud launched a new enterprise focused on blockchain applications in an effort for the internet giant to expand its services. According to the company’s statement, the new team aims to accelerate customers’ efforts in the emerging blockchain and crypto spaces.

Later in October, Google announced the deal with Coinbase to accept crypto payments for cloud services early next year. Google Cloud will let customers pay for its services using ten cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Tether.

According to Amit Zavery, Google Cloud Vice President and General Manager, Google Cloud began accepting crypto payments from a “handful” of customers through integration with the business payments tool Coinbase Commerce.

Currently, Coinbase Commerce supports ten cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Tether. Coinbase Commerce also plans to move “data-related applications” from Amazon Web Services cloud to Google.