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Google Cloud has unveiled ambitious plans to launch its own layer-1 blockchain, the Universal Ledger, aiming squarely at the financial sector and setting itself up against emerging rivals from Stripe and Circle.
Google Cloud bets on blockchain
The system, known as GCUL, is designed to act as neutral infrastructure rather than a proprietary payments network, with full launch anticipated in 2026.
Rich Widmann, Google’s head of Web3 strategy, disclosed the initiative in a LinkedIn post, describing it as the product of several years of internal research and development.
A distinguishing feature of GCUL is its support for Python-based smart contracts.
By adopting one of the world’s most widely used programming languages, Google hopes to lower the technical barrier for both developers and financial engineers exploring tokenisation and blockchain-based settlement.
Unlike Stripe and Circle, whose blockchains are tied to existing payment businesses, Google is framing GCUL as a “credibly neutral” system.
“Any financial institution can build with GCUL,” Widmann argued, adding that competitors in the industry may hesitate to rely on blockchains operated by direct payment rivals.
The positioning is clear: where Stripe’s “Tempo” seeks to extend merchant payment rails into blockchain and Circle’s “Arc” builds directly around USDC stablecoin transactions, Google wants to offer infrastructure that sits above those silos.
Testing with CME Group
The first concrete deployment is already underway with CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange.
The two companies announced a pilot programme earlier this year to test GCUL for asset tokenisation, collateral settlement and real-time payment functions.
According to CME chairman and chief executive Terry Duffy, the technology could prove vital as capital markets move toward round-the-clock trading, delivering greater efficiency in collateral, margin and fee processing.
CME has completed an initial integration phase, with direct market participant trials scheduled later this year. A broader rollout is then expected ahead of the 2026 commercial launch.
Competitive Landscape
The institutional blockchain race has intensified in recent months.
Stripe, processing more than a trillion dollars annually, sees Tempo as a natural extension of its merchant ecosystem.
Circle’s Arc is meanwhile optimised for foreign exchange and cross-border stablecoin payments.
Smaller players are also testing the waters: Plasma, a settlement-layer start-up backed by Tether investors, secured $24 million in funding in February; Robinhood has begun experimenting with tokenised equities in Europe.
Google brings considerable advantages: scale, existing relationships with global banks, and its cloud computing backbone.
The company’s Web3 division, established in 2022, has already forged partnerships with Coinbase, Polygon and Solana.
GCUL is pitched as “planet-scale” infrastructure capable of supporting billions of users—an ambition few competitors can match.
By moving beyond blockchain data services into full ledger operations, Google Cloud is making its most direct play yet for the future of financial infrastructure.
If successful, GCUL could become a cornerstone of institutional tokenisation and settlement—reshaping how capital markets and payment providers interact in the digital era.
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