Google has said it will start letting some customers pay for cloud services using cryptocurrencies in early 2023 thanks to a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase, which will facilitate the payments through Coinbase Commerce.
According to CNBC, the deal was announced at Google’s Cloud Next conference and may lure in blockchain-native companies to Google in the fast-growing cloud computing market in which Google competes with the likes of Microsoft and Amazon, which do not accept cryptocurrency payments.
Google’s cloud business helps diversify the earnings of its parent company Alphabet, which relies heavily on advertising revenue from Google and YouTube. Cloud services account for 9% of Alphabet’s revenue, up from less than 6% three years ago.
Coinbase generates the majority of its revenue through trading fees on its platform, but is set to earn a portion of the cryptocurrency payments made for Google’s cloud services. The exchange will move its data-related applications to Google from Amazon Web Services.
Initially, the Google Cloud Platform infrastructure will accept cryptocurrency payments from customers in the Web3 space who want to pay in crypto, according to the vice president and general manager and head of platform at Google Cloud Amit Zavery.
Google will then roll out the feature to make customers. Coinbase Commerce accepts several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin ($BTC), Bitcoin Cash ($BCH), Ethereum ($ETH), USDCoin ($USDC), $USDT, ApeCoin ($APE), Dogecoin ($DOGE), and Shiba Inu ($SHIB).
Per CNBC’s report, Google weighed other companies to accept cryptocurrency payments through them, including PayPal. Zavery noted that ultimately “Coinbase had the greatest capability.”
Also read: How to Transfer Crypto From Coinbase to PayPal and Vice-Versa: A Step-by-Step Guide
The tech giant is reportedly also exploring how it can use Coinbase Prime, a service that securely stores organizations’ cryptocurrencies and allows them to execute trades. Per Zavery Google will experiment and “see how can we can participate” with managing cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase and Google have reportedly been in talks for months, with discussions surrounding Coinbase Commerce and Prime happening at the same time.
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