In a recent LinkedIn post, Google Cloud’s Web3 head branded the company’s upcoming Universal Ledger as a neutral blockchain for financial institutions.
New details on Google Cloud’s in-development layer-1 blockchain, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), were shared by the head of Web3 strategy in a LinkedIn post.
The blockchain was described by Rich Widmann as the result of “years of R&D at Google,” designed to be credibly neutral and compatible with Python-based smart contracts.
According to Widmann, GCUL is meant to serve as an open infrastructure layer for financial institutions. “Tether won’t use Circle’s blockchain — and Adyen probably won’t use Stripe’s blockchain,” he said, suggesting that the network’s reported neutrality could help broaden adoption.
Stripe and Circle are also betting on layer-1 blockchains. Circle recently unveiled Arc, an open network optimized for stablecoin finance, while a stealth project code-named Tempo is being developed by Stripe in partnership with crypto venture firm Paradigm.
According to a chart shared by Widmann, while Stripe is leaning on its $1.4 trillion payments network and Circle is centering Arc on USDC, the Google Universal Ledger will be a “planet-scale” blockchain with billions of users and bank-grade functionality.
Google Cloud expects to publish more technical details about the blockchain “in the coming months,” Widmann said.
Google Cloud has been expanding into blockchain technology since at least 2018, when Bitcoin data was added to its Big Query warehouse, and support was later extended to Ethereum and more than a dozen other networks.
Google Cloud and CME Partner to Test Universal Ledger
The push accelerated in 2022 with the launch of a dedicated Web3 division, which has since led to partnerships with firms like Coinbase, Polygon, and Solana being formed.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is currently working with Google Cloud to test the Universal Ledger for tokenization and payments.
The collaboration was disclosed in March, when a pilot to test tokenized asset settlement and wholesale payment systems was announced by the companies — though the specific assets were not revealed, and full market participant trials are set to begin in 2026.
At the time, it was said by CME chairman and CEO Terry Duffy that the Universal Ledger could “deliver significant efficiencies for collateral, margin, settlement and fee payments as the world moves toward 24/7 trading.”
By securing a pilot with CME, which posted record revenue of $1.7 billion in Q2 2025 on average daily volumes of 30.2 million contracts, the core plumbing of global finance is being targeted by Google.
The latest update from Google about its L1 comes amid a broader wave of tech and fintech firms developing their own blockchains.
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In February, plans were announced by Plasma, a startup backed by Tether-linked investors, to build a settlement-focused layer-1 for USDt after $24 million was raised.
In June, tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs were launched by Robinhood for its European customers. The tokens are currently issued on Arbitrum, but the company plans to migrate them to its own native layer-2 blockchain in the future.
