Coinbase Cloud Becomes Chainlink Node Operator as Cloud Service Providers Accelerate Web3 Growth

This week, Coinbase Cloud, already a node operator on Algorand, Aptos, Flow, and Solana blockchains, expanded its initiative meant to foster the sector's underlying technology. The blockchain infrastructure provider focusing on enterprise-grade products confirmed in a Thursday blog that it will be running a node on the decentralized oracle network Chainlink. Launched formally in 2019, Chainlink mainnet essentially serves as a decentralized finance (DeFi) oracle provider linking blockchains to the outside world (off-chain) data sourced from oracles.

Coinbase Cloud to bolster Chainlink's Oracle network capacity and security

Node operators play a crucial role in any network and in the case of Chainlink, they are responsible for data provision to blockchain protocols and verification (accuracy) of the data pulled from off-chain oracles before smart contracts process it. Over the years, Chainlink has secured prominent node operators, including the Associated Press, Amazon Web Services, Swisscom and T-Systems Multimedia Solutions.

“Our participation in Chainlink’s Decentralized Oracle Network is a statement of our commitment to the security and reliability of smart contracts. We believe on-chain is the next online, and we look forward to working with Chainlink to further this future,” Coinbase Group Product Manager Kai Zhao remarked.

In addition to the appreciated impact on decentralization, Coinbase's contribution to Chainlink as an oracle node provider helps the network effectively bridge Web2 and Web3 vertices.

The efforts also convey the impression of a trustworthy future for blockchain technology.

“Their [Coinbase Cloud] involvement will undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of decentralized applications, further propelling the blockchain industry to new heights.” Chainlink Labs Head of Centralized Finance, Sales, and Strategy, William Reilly, said of the opportunity.

Coinbase Cloud, borne out of Coinbase's acquisition of Bison Trails, has stood out as an integral unit to the exchange brand, which first revealed plans to explore the Web3 ecosystem in depth two years ago. Coinbase executives have since severally reiterated the focus and commitment, equating the brand's forecasted dominance to Amazon's command of the ecommerce niche. Earlier this year, the exchange debuted its fully open-source Ethereum layer-2 network called Base, built on Optimism's OP Stack. Notably, Coinbase isn’t the only entity accelerating its development efforts in the space.

To learn more about Chainlink, check out Investing in Chainlink guide.

Google Cloud partnered with Polygon to boost Web3 development

Last month at Consensus 2023, Google's cloud computing services platform revealed that it has been progressively pushing into the Web3 space –  a collaboration with Polygon Labs as the strategic cloud provider being testament. The tech giant’s Google Cloud Platform division said in an April 27 press that it was teaming up with the development team behind Ethereum scaler Polygon to offer a streamlined experience for building and scaling decentralized applications. Polygon Labs hailed the strategic alliance, noting that Google Cloud's infrastructure and developer tools will support and help accelerate the adoption of Polygon protocols, including PoS, Supernets, and zkEVM.

“Google Cloud supporting all of the Polygon protocols is a step in the right direction to help onboard more people into Web3,” Polygon Labs President Ryan Wyatt said at the time. “Today's announcement with Google Cloud aims to increase transaction throughput enabling use cases in gaming, supply chain management, and DeFi. This will pave the way for even more businesses to embrace blockchain technology through Polygon.”

Through the partnership, Polygon will gain access to Google Cloud's Blockchain Node Engine, a fully managed node hosting service, meaning its developers could concentrate on building on the protocol while retaining complete autonomy over where they deploy their nodes. With corporations venturing into new possibilities in Web3, there has been a growing trend toward prioritizing quality to minimize risk.

To learn more about Polygon, check out our Investing in Polygon guide.

Google Cloud has been actively involved in this pursuit, leveraging its expertise and engineering efforts to propel the industry forward. The cloud computing service intends to build on its involvement in the space by providing “enterprise-ready Web3 infrastructure and developer-friendly tools that businesses need to offer fast, frictionless, and secure access to dApps for consumers.”

Alibaba Cloud to create scalable and decentralized virtual worlds on Avalanche

In a separate announcement earlier this month, Alibaba Group's cloud computing subsidiary announced a collaboration with layer one smart contracts platform Avalanche to deploy a metaverse on the blockchain. The Alibaba Cloud initiative set in motion on May 4 will see the entities combine their strengths and resources to build an end-to-end business solution, Cloudverse. Avalanche reported that the venture includes another party, MUA DAO, whose input effort in the implementation of metaverse integrations will overall help individuals and businesses manage and customize their metaverse environments on the smart contracts platform.

In December 2022, Alibaba Cloud expanded its line of infrastructure tech and intelligence tools to Avalanche allowing users to easily become nodes validator through its Node-as-a-Service initiatives.  Avalanche also noted that as part of the agreement, its developers can leverage computing, storage, and distribution resources offered by Alibaba Cloud in instances such as when there is high demand for them. Avalanche's broader DeFi ecosystem encompasses several projects, including protocols like Aave, Curve, and Sushi.

To learn more about Avalanche, check out our Investing in Avalanche guide.

The recent partnership for the Cloudverse launchpad adds to similar efforts from the largest cloud services in Asia Pacific provider. Alibaba Cloud tentatively agreed to a March deal with Sui blockchain developer Mysten Labs to provide archival node services and validator cloud infrastructure for testnet developers.

 “Alibaba Cloud has demonstrated a strong commitment to facilitating the growth of Web3 with its trusted and secure cloud infrastructure. We are excited to partner together to introduce entities in e-commerce, payments and other areas to the possibilities enabled by Sui and blockchain technology overall.” Mysten Labs co-founder Evan Cheng said.

To learn more about Sui, check out our Investing in Sui guide.

Amazon Web Services still keen on blockchain exploits

In related news, Amazon Web Services (AWS) partnered with Cronos Labs last month to scale and nurture web3 startups through the Cronos Accelerator Program. Cronos Lab noted in an April 25 blog that AWS will provide resources and expertise to projects in DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, and Infrastructure applications. The accelerator unit specializing in DeFi and blockchain games, will utilize the AWS program to support web3 entrepreneurs as part of its efforts to drive blockchain adoption. Earlier in the same week, Lens launched Momoka to handle native dApps. Lens Protocol which has been keen on preparations to handle growing transactions on its decentralized apps, introduced its optimistic layer three blockchain scaling solution, Momoka, in beta.

The new open-source scaling solution is designed to proliferate decentralized social for mass adoption. To remain competitive with Web2, decentralized social platforms need to scale, which makes a case for launching Momoka as tooling structured to handle increased transaction volumes and support mass consumer adoption, all towards refining the user experience. The launch is expected to spur Web3 innovation, resulting in the introduction of exciting features and business models to promote the adoption of this technology.

AI hype gets to crypto exchange Bitget, with a $10M investment to Fetch.ai

Last month, derivatives trading platform Bitget pledged a $10 million investment into the Fetch.ai ecosystem at a time when AI hype is rife with OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot incessantly gaining utility by the day.  Bitget revealed the investment in an April 27 press release, explaining that it would offer the AI-powered blockchain project strategic direction and marketing consultation services. Bitget's Managing Director, Gracy Chan, believes Fetch.ai's AI solutions can revolutionize the way businesses and people interact, and the collaboration is a testimony to the value Bitget sees in the project. The investment announcement came a week after the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange confirmed securing registration as a service provider in Lithuania.