Alphabet lately unveiled a brand new blockchain referred to as the Google Cloud Common Ledger (GCUL), some options of which seem to place it in direct competitors with Ripple Labs’ XRP Ledger (XRPL).
The $2.5 trillion web big stamped its personal model on it and name-dropped different heavyweights on its debut, together with the world’s largest choices and futures change, CME.
Like XRPL, GCUL will probably be a distributed base layer blockchain, permit API entry, function 24/7 with low latency, assist programmable tokenization of property, present monetary functions like cost automations, cost charges for transactions, assist institutional infrastructure, facilitate world funds, and combine with third-party wallets.
This characteristic record, to not point out GCUL’s banking and funds focus, mirrors years of XRPL messaging.
Certainly, a reader of Google’s documentation would possibly turn out to be confused about whether or not sure paragraphs are describing GCUL or XRPL.
For instance, GCUL will energy “the management of commercial bank money accounts and facilitate transfers via a distributed ledger, empowering financial institutions and intermediaries.”
An enterprise blockchain centered on monetary establishments
Though XRP is the third most precious digital asset, GCUL is created by and named after a high 5 firm globally.
And whereas the XRP Ledger and its backer Ripple are price just a few hundred billion {dollars} mixed, Alphabet dwarfs that at $2.5 trillion. Furthermore, not solely does GCUL have the backing of a bigger conglomerate, GCUL is already in a pilot program with the world’s largest choices and futures change, CME.
CME is already testing the tokenization of property — maybe commodities, choices, or futures contracts — on the GCUL blockchain. CME has by no means tokenized something on the XRPL.
Loads of variations between Google and XRP Ledger
Not like the XRPL which has its personal proprietary token, XRP, GCUL has not introduced any plans for an preliminary coin providing (ICO).
As well as, XRPL is a distributed community that achieves consensus via world validation protocols, whereas Alphabet plans to maintain GCUL as a personal, permissioned blockchain.
The 2 blockchains even have separate programming languages — python for GCUL versus C++ for XRPL.
Lastly, GCUL is at present in beta testing, whereas XRPL has been in public operation for over a decade.
Final month, Ripple co-creator David Schwartz defined why his blockchain, regardless of greater than 300 financial institution partnerships amassed over greater than a decade, doesn’t course of billions of {dollars} price of on-chain banking transactions.
Ripple has additionally persistently offered XRP to fund varied initiatives, together with its stablecoin initiatives.
