Google public chain GCUL officially launched! Write smart contracts in Python, already partnered with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Rich Widmann, the Web3 Strategy Lead at Google, officially unveiled the blockchain "Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL)" on LinkedIn. Widmann stated that GCUL combines years of research and development from Google, aimed at providing a new L1 that offers both high performance and trusted neutrality for Financial Institutions, and supports smart contracts written in Python.

CME Group has adopted GCUL for experimentation.

He emphasized that this is not just a "running chain", but an infrastructure designed for traditional finance: backed by a Google-scale cloud and ecosystem, GCUL aims to directly connect tokenization and payments with the needs of mainstream institutions. He revealed that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME Group) has chosen Universal Ledger as the experimental field.

Widmann also pointed out the positioning advantage of GCUL: as a neutral base layer, it is less likely to encounter conflicts of interest compared to chains built by issuing organizations. Tether will not use Circle's chain, and Adyen probably will not use Stripe's chain; however, any Financial Institution can build on GCUL.

Google Blockchain focuses on neutrality, providing services for all Financial Institutions.

The comparison chart posted by Widmann shows that Google describes GCUL as a Planet Scale level, an L1 developed by Google itself, currently in the private testnet phase, featuring being built for finance, native support for commercial bank currencies on-chain, and Python-based smart contracts. In contrast, Circle's Arc is an EVM L1, planned to open public testing this fall, emphasizing USDC as the native Gas with sub-second finality. Stripe's Tempo is also an EVM L1, relying on existing merchant networks and payment stacks.

Source: Rich Widmann

He finally stated that more technical details about GCUL will be announced in the coming months. Overall, Google is leveraging cloud and developer ecosystems to enter the financial-grade L1 track, attempting to provide a neutral option that is not tied to specific business interests and can be adopted by a wider range of institutions, apart from self-built chains by payment and stablecoin players like Stripe and Circle.

This article announces the official launch of Google public chain GCUL! Using Python to write smart contracts, it has partnered with CME Group, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.