Highlights –

  • Web3 developers can take advantage of all these advantages without the hassle of manually provisioning a node by utilizing the Blockchain Node Engine.
  • As the first blockchain supported by the Node Engine, Ethereum, developers will be able to provision Ethereum nodes fully.

Google LLC is making it more straightforward for Web3 developers to start developing distributed blockchain apps with the introduction of Blockchain Node Engine in Google Cloud, which hosts and deploys fully managed blockchain nodes in the cloud.

Blockchain technology is the foundation of Web3, also known as the decentralized web, which enables applications to run across peer-to-peer networks rather than centralized services. Web3 is referred to as the next generation of the web.

Blockchain nodes maintain a permanent record of all encrypted network transactions to make this possible. These nodes stay in sync and are constantly updating to keep the network’s integrity intact.

Web3 developers can instantly access on-chain transactions thanks to self-hosting and managing a blockchain node. It helps lower latency for decentralized apps (dapps) and offers many advantages like higher reliability, performance, and security. Direct access to blockchain data enables quick reading and writing of data to the blockchain, creating and deploying smart contracts, and real-time monitoring of dapps health.

Web3 developers can take advantage of all these advantages without the hassle of manually provisioning a node by utilizing the Blockchain Node Engine. Even when a node is launched in the cloud, it can typically take a long time because a “full node” requires downloading the entire history of a blockchain, which can take several days. The Node Engine accelerates this procedure by mirroring the blockchain’s present state and starting synchronization from there.

The first blockchain supported by the Node Engine will be Ethereum, allowing developers to provision Ethereum nodes fully. Regarding market capitalization, Ethereum is the second largest blockchain after Bitcoin. According to an Electric Capital Developer Report from 2021, Ethereum continues to have the largest ecosystem of tools, apps, and protocols and retains 30% of full-time developers who joined Web3 projects after 2017.

Ethereum developers will be able to utilize the secure environment of Google Cloud to avert unauthorized access to nodes. With access to Google’s Virtual Private Cloud firewall, developers will be able to allow access to only reliable users and devices.

This information comes close to Google Cloud’s revelation about the establishment of a dedicated Digital Assets Team devoted to blockchain technologies. The launch of the Node Engine is part of the team’s current efforts to support the blockchain technology ecosystem for Google partners.

Amit Zavery, vice president, general manager, and head of the platform at Google Cloud, stated, “While the world is still early in its embrace of Web3, it is a market that is already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking us to increase our support for Web3 and crypto-related technologies”.

The updates to Google Cloud’s services come at a time when AWS added Ethereum nodes to its Amazon Managed Blockchain services in March this year. Developers can host blockchain ledgers and sync them to Web3 apps using the AWS-managed Ethereum nodes.