If you are thinking about investing in XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), you need to pay attention to what’s happening in Silicon Valley. At the end of August, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) launched a new blockchain project called Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) that some have already dubbed a potential XRP killer.
But is that really the case? Here’s what you need to know about Google’s latest project, and how it might affect XRP’s price.
What is the Google Cloud Universal Ledger?
The Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) is a Layer-1 blockchain, just like the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which is the blockchain powered by XRP. And, just like the XRP Ledger, GCUL has been optimized to facilitate cross-border payments between banks and financial institutions.
There are other uses for the Google blockchain, such as asset tokenization and transaction settlement, but the place where Google and XRP will compete head-to-head is likely to be cross-border payments.
Generally speaking, it’s faster, easier, and cheaper to send cross-border payments using blockchain technology than legacy technology. Instead of waiting days for transactions to clear, financial institutions can get near-instantaneous settlement, and at just a fraction of the cost. So there’s a huge potential market opportunity for anyone who figures out how to do this best.
Right now, GCUL is still in beta testing, and likely won’t go live until sometime in 2026. So there’s still time for Ripple — the company behind the XRP token — to head off this threat. The good news for Ripple is that the XRP Ledger has been around for more than a decade, and is already battle-tested when it comes to moving money across borders using distributed ledger technology.
Key differences
Although GCUL and the XRP Ledger are both blockchains, there are some important differences. For example, the Google blockchain is a private, permissioned blockchain, while the XRP Ledger is a public, permissionless blockchain. In other words, anyone can use the XRP Ledger, but not everyone can use the Google blockchain.
Until recently, financial institutions have shown a clear preference for private, permissioned blockchains. There’s simply less liability and risk involved. The idea of putting financial payment information on a public blockchain quite rightly strikes fear into the hearts of many in the financial services sector. So the Google blockchain may have an edge here, at least for now, if it is perceived as less risky.
