28-8-2025 – Google has introduced GCUL, a Layer-1 blockchain aimed at capturing market share from Ethereum in stablecoin and tokenized asset settlements. The Google Cloud Universal Ledger, currently in private testnet, focuses on fast, low-cost payments infrastructure for stablecoins, capital markets, and tokenized commercial bank deposits.
It positions itself as an alternative to stablecoins, encouraging direct use of deposits on the chain, with a public launch planned for the coming months. Chuk Okpalugo, product manager at Paxos, described it as a “private permissioned payments chain built for tokenized commercial bank deposits,” emphasizing its appeal for institutional use over traditional stablecoin solutions.
Ethereum currently dominates with over 52% of stablecoin settlements exceeding $145 billion and a similar share in tokenized assets valued at more than $7 billion, per DeFiLlama and RWA data. Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto, noted that established firms like Google, backed by substantial capital, are set to “take a big stab at ETH’s market share” amid growing competition from players such as Stripe, Circle, and Tether. This development arrives as Standard Chartered projects Ethereum reaching $7,500 by year-end, driven by treasury adoption trends.
