Voltage partners with Google Cloud to boost global Bitcoin Lightning adoption

Voltage, a Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure provider, has partnered with Google Cloud to increase its hosting capacity and locations globally.

According to a May 19 statement, the partnership would allow Voltage users to create Bitcoin Lightning nodes anywhere in the world. However, initial operations would be in Iowa, Netherlands, and Singapore.

Voltage stated that its protocol helps to facilitate money transfers over the lightning network, offering a cheaper alternative to available options. The infrastructure provider also said businesses can reach a global audience using the Lightning network.

Additionally, Voltage enables microtransactions which can help businesses improve customer retention, decrease acquisition costs, and increase the lifetime value of customers.

By deploying on Google Cloud, Voltage can better meet these needs through the tech giant’s world-class infrastructure and global network. As a result, the move would further boost Bitcoin Lightning’s adoption globally.

“By using Voltage and Google Cloud, customers can deploy their workloads globally via two leading providers.”

Graham Krizek, the founder and CEO of Voltage, tweeted that the partnership suggested that Lightning was going mainstream. This sentiment is widely shared by several other crypto community members, who reacted positively to news of the partnership.

Launched in 2020, Voltage describes itself as a Lightning as a Service (LaaS) provider and offers payments and finance companies infrastructure solutions for cross-border settlements via Lightning Network.

Google’s increasing crypto moves

Meanwhile, the partnership marks another collaboration between Google and crypto companies. The tech giant Cloud unit has been especially active in onboarding crypto firms and offering blockchain-focused services.

In late 2022, Google announced that it had partnered with Coinbase to accept payments for its cloud services in cryptocurrencies. It also stated that it would explore using Coinbase Prime to store cryptocurrencies.

Around the same period, Google Cloud became a Solana validator. The company said it would be running a block-producing Solana validator to enable it to participate in and validate the Solana network.

In April, the company partnered with Polygon Labs to provide customers with automated access to Polygon blockchain nodes through its fully managed node hosting service. It would also contribute cloud services that support the blockchain network’s new zkEVM scaling solution.