%{{tag.tag}} {{articledata.title}} {{moment(articledata.cdate)}} @{{articledata.company.replace(" ","")}} comment %Google parent company %Alphabet (NASDAQ: $GOOGL ) is moving forward with the development of a Layer-1 %Blockchain. Specifically, Google Cloud is creating its own Layer-1 blockchain, positioning the network as neutral infrastructure for global finance and decentralized financial (%DeFi) transactions. In an online post, Rich Widmann, Google's head of Web3 strategy, provided details of the project known as the "Google Cloud Universal Ledger" (GCUL). He described the platform as a neutral, high-performance blockchain designed for institutions, supporting Python-based smart contracts to make it more accessible to developers and financial firms. "Any financial institution can build with GCUL," wrote Widmann. Google's Universal Ledger is being designed as a shared infrastructure intended to be credibly neutral and accessible to any institution rather than bound to a single payment ecosystem. The Google Cloud Universal Ledger is also expected to support asset tokenization. Widmann wrote that Google aims to have its Layer-1 blockchain launched and fully available in 2026, adding that the ultimate goal is to create a foundation for global-scale payments, institutional tokenization, and around-the-clock capital markets infrastructure. GOOGL stock has gained 9% this year to trade at $207.14 U.S. per share.