Architecting a blockchain startup with Google Cloud

Editor’s note: Today’s post includes content from our Google Cloud Technical Guides for Startups video series, which includes detailed guides to support startups along every step of the growth journey. Watch the entire series on-demand on the Google Cloud Tech channel or directly on our website — and don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date.

Blockchain technology is finding real-world applications in industries around the world, with blockchain startups leading the way in areas like gaming, financial services, and identity verification. However, building and managing blockchain infrastructure can be complex and time-consuming. 

This is where Google Cloud comes in.

Google Cloud offers a comprehensive suite of products and services that can help blockchain startups build, deploy, and manage their applications quickly, securely, and efficiently.

Blockchain technology challenges 

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform many aspects of our lives. However, despite its promise, blockchain also faces the following challenges that need to be addressed before it can achieve widespread adoption.

Scalability: Blockchain networks can be slow and inefficient, especially as the number of users and transactions increases. This is because each transaction needs to be verified by all nodes on the network, which can be a very time-consuming process.

Performance: Achieving fast and reliable network performance is another critical challenge for blockchain technology, particularly as the number of users and transactions on the network grows. 

Security: Blockchain nodes are targets for cyberattacks, as they hold valuable data and can be used to manipulate the network.

Data: The sheer volume of data stored on blockchains can pose challenges for efficient data retrieval, scalability, and privacy preservation.

To help you address these challenges, Google Cloud offers a wide range of products and services available, tailored to the needs of blockchain startups. Let’s explore some of the key options.

Handle increasing transaction volumes with highly scalable infrastructure 

Google Cloud’s robust network combined with Compute Engine allows startups to host their blockchain nodes and build decentralized applications (dApps) with ease. Compute Engine also supports managed instance groups (MIGs) with autoscaling, which can seamlessly adapt to fluctuating demand, automatically spinning up additional virtual machines (VMs) when needed and scaling down as demand subsides. Our VMs boot up in mere seconds, ensuring your dApps remain responsive and efficient.

Another popular Google Cloud service that makes it easy to deploy and manage containerized applications is Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), our managed Kubernetes service. GKE is a great choice for companies building and managing Web3 applications, empowering developers with a scalable, self-healing infrastructure and granular monitoring while simplifying node management for blockchain providers like Blockdaemon.

Our latest offering for blockchain node hosting, Blockchain Node Engine, is a fully managed service designed specifically for Web3 development. It allows developers to quickly and easily deploy dedicated blockchain nodes, eliminating the need to manage the underlying infrastructure themselves. With Blockchain Node Engine, you don’t need to worry about SRE tasks; Google Cloud handles them for you. Startups can also use Blockchain Node Engine to bootstrap their dApp projects. For instance, startups can access Etherum block data in less than an hour and support for Polygon and Solana is now in public preview.

Optimize dApps with high-performance infrastructure 

For startups who are looking for fast and secure transaction processing, Google Cloud network services leverage automation, advanced AI, and programmability to scale, secure and optimize your infrastructure. Beyond location flexibility, Google Cloud grants you granular control over your networking infrastructure, including firewall rules and IP addressing. 

Google’s high-performance private network seamlessly connects blockchain nodes and your dApp with high-throughput, low-latency interconnects. We prioritize security and access control, offering IAM (Identity and Access Management) and KMS (Key Management Service) to ensure compliance with user access roles and enable secure submission and authorization of digital asset transactions using encryption keys and signatures.

Analyze blockchain data

With Google Cloud Blockchain Analytics, you can easily access historical blockchain data through BigQuery, simplifying data analysis with SQL queries. This eliminates the need for developers to manage nodes or develop custom indexers, saving time and resources. By leveraging BigQuery’s query engine and joining blockchain data with internal data, developers can gain deeper insights into user behavior and business operations. 

In addition, BigQuery public datasets now include 11 additional blockchains in preview, addressing the growing demand for comprehensive data access in the Web3 space. The newly added blockchains include: Avalanche, Arbitrum, Cronos, Ethereum (Görli), Fantom (Opera), Near, Optimism, Polkadot, Polygon Mainnet, Polygon Mumbai, and Tron. By providing a readily accessible and comprehensive source of blockchain data, BigQuery empowers developers, analysts, and organizations to unlock the full potential of blockchain technology.

Likewise, Vertex AI empowers startups to unlock the hidden potential of blockchain data, combining scalability, real-time processing, and Google’s deep AI and machine learning expertise to deliver unparalleled insights. With cutting-edge generative capabilities, Vertex AI supercharges data analysis and drives new possibilities to explore the power of the blockchain, including generating synthetic data, crafting hyper-realistic simulations — or even using real-world data to create dynamic NFTs that can be used to engage with customers.

Build and scale your blockchain business

The Google Cloud Web3 startup program is designed to support and accelerate Web3 projects and startups. Participating in the program can unlock a treasure trove of benefits, helping to propel Web3 startups to success. 

The program provides significant financial support with sizable credits for Google Cloud services, easing the burden of infrastructure costs and empowering you to focus on innovation. Furthermore, the program offers unique learning opportunities that keep startups ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving Web3 landscape. By joining, teams get access to advanced hands-on labs and cutting-edge Google Cloud technology, including early access to new products.For more information about how to join the community and get funding, expert support, and other specific Web3 benefits, visit the Web3 startup program website. 

Google Cloud and Web3: Empowering blockchain breakthroughs

At Google Cloud, we are committed to supporting the Web3 community and fostering innovation in the blockchain space. By providing cloud tools and resources developers need to build and scale dApps securely and through our Web3 startup program, we are helping hundreds of blockchain businesses grow and create groundbreaking new solutions that will help shape the future of the internet. 

Polygon
Google Cloud and Polygon Labs are partnering to make it easier for developers to build and use Polygon protocols, which will accelerate the growth of the Web3 ecosystem. Google Cloud is a strategic cloud provider for Polygon protocols, providing tools and infrastructure to help developers build, launch, and grow their Web3 products and dApps. 

Blockchain Node Engine helps developers overcome the challenges of provisioning, maintaining, and operating their own blockchain nodes. Google Cloud Marketplace also offers one-click deployment of a Polygon PoS node to power dApps quickly and easily. Additionally, Google Cloud provides developers with access to the Polygon blockchain dataset on BigQuery, allowing them to analyze real-time, on-chain and cross-chain data to inform decision-making.

Nansen
BigQuery plays a pivotal role in blockchain analytics platform Nansen‘s ability to process and analyze vast amounts of blockchain data, reaching up to 1 petabyte per day. This real-time data processing capability is essential for Nansen to provide its users with up-to-date insights and make informed decisions in the rapidly evolving crypto market.

Furthermore, Google Cloud’s machine learning tools, particularly BigQuery ML and Cloud Inference API, have inspired Nansen’s AI predictive modeling and recommendations strategy. With Google Cloud, Nansen has been able to develop sophisticated algorithms that can uncover hidden patterns and trends in blockchain data, providing users with valuable insights and predictive recommendations.

Matter Labs/zkSync
ZkSync by Matter Labs is a Layer-2 protocol that scales Ethereum with cutting-edge zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. Since going to the mainnet in March 2023, It has become one of the fastest growing ZK rollups globally. Matter Labs has been using Google Cloud since their beginning, leveraging GKE and other Google Cloud services to keep up with their fast growth and high demand. As a result, they have optimized their proofing system for Google Cloud. 

In 2024, Matter Labs and Google Cloud doubled down on their relationship in 2024 to fuel the next phase of their growth for their new hyperchain offering, which is a new Ethereum scaling solution proposed by Matter Labs.

Getting started

Web3 is revolutionizing how the world interacts with data and applications, and we’re thrilled to be working alongside some of the pioneers helping to create this new reality. If you’re a blockchain startup seeking a reliable and scalable platform to build your business, look no further than Google Cloud. Get started today by signing up for a free trial and explore the vast array of resources available to help you succeed. See you in the cloud!