Google has partnered with Coinbase to allow customers to pay for cloud infrastructure with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The deal, which was announced at Google’s recent Cloud Next conference, will also see Coinbase move their data-related applications from Amazon Web Services to Google’s cloud infrastructure. 

Earlier this year, Google Cloud announced the formation of teams to develop blockchain solutions. In May of 2022, Google indicated that it was exploring the possibility of adding support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments. 

Jim Migdal, Coinbase’s vice president of business development, revealed that before agreeing to the partnership, they had been in talks with Google for months. These involved conversations on “supporting commerce transactions, cloud usage, and [Coinbase's] Prime service.” 

Coming in 2023

Google will make their Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment option available in early 2023. However, only a select group of clients will be able to use the service. The plan is to progressively allow more customers to pay for cloud services with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies over time. 

Amit Zavery, vice president and general manager and head of platform at Google Cloud said:

The Google Cloud Platform infrastructure service will initially accept cryptocurrency payments from a handful of customers in the Web3 world who want to pay with cryptocurrency, thanks to an integration with the Coinbase Commerce service.

As part of the deal, Google is also exploring ways to use Coinbase Prime, a custodial service for organizations. In line with this, Google will experiment with managing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets.   

Zavery also revealed that Google looked at other platforms that offer businesses a way to receive Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments before settling on Coinbase. “We did look at other companies for the cryptocurrency side of it,” he said, “ultimately, Coinbase had the greatest capability.”

While it is known that Coinbase will earn a percentage from transactions executed with Google, the exact terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

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