EigenLayer welcomes Google Cloud as a mainnet node operator
Google Cloud has launched its EigenLayer mainnet node operator, a significant development for the restaking protocol and its ecosystem.
In an X post on April 10, Sam Padilla, web3 product manager and node operator at Google Cloud, said, “Excited to share that the Google Eigen Layer mainnet operator is up and running! Congrats to the EigenLayer team on a successful mainnet launch.”
Google Cloud had previously taken part in EigenLayer’s “Operator Working Group” alongside 65 other operators and solo stakers, the developer behind EigenLayer reportedly said in a statement.
Google Cloud web3 is currently listed as a node operator on the Goerli testnet for EigenLayer, a restaking protocol that allows ether (ETH) to be staked on several platforms at once. The protocol went live for stakers in June.
However, operators who boost security and allow stakers to delegate assets have been on the testnet until now. The deployment of Google Cloud’s mainnet operator is a critical step towards realizing EigenLayer’s true vision.
Google Cloud, Google’s cloud computing service, has been steadily marching into Web3 since Bloomberg first revealed the company’s formation of a blockchain arm in January 2022.
Later that year, Google Cloud released the Blockchain Node Engine, a service meant to let developers run blockchain network nodes more easily. Google Cloud launched a web3 startup program in April 2023.
Google Cloud has shown interest in staking before the EigenLayer integration, becoming a Polygon validator in September. However, the tech behemoth made a relatively modest investment: Google Cloud has the second-smallest stake among more than 100 validators.
In October 2023, the cross-chain protocol LayerZero announced a partnership with Google Cloud, serving as LayerZero’s default oracle for verifying transactions between blockchains.
Google Cloud’s entry into web3 has sparked debate, with some considering the massive cloud computing service’s existence as a major blow to decentralization.
