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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, November 7th, 2024, Chainwire

Cronos Labs, the blockchain startup accelerator focused on growing the Cronos blockchain ecosystem, today announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Google Cloud.

With this collaboration, Google Cloud will serve as the primary cloud provider for Cronos and its ecosystem. The alliance with Google Cloud will also focus on four complementary pillars:

• Onboarding of Google Cloud as a Cronos validator;
• Technical innovation with Google Cloud to enhance Cronos's performance;
• Increasing developer adoption of Cronos and Google Cloud at the intersection of AI and blockchain;
• Value creation package for startups of the Cronos Accelerator program.

Ken Timsit, Managing Director at Cronos Labs, said: "The partnership with Google Cloud brings tangible value to end-users and developers in several ways. First, it enhances the security and reliability of the whole network. Second, it makes the Cronos Accelerator program even more appealing to startups. Finally, it opens the door to the creation of a new generation of innovative decentralized applications using Google Cloud's data processing, computing and AI capabilities."

Rishi Ramchandani, Head of Web3 APAC, Google Cloud, announced, "Google Cloud is strengthening its commitment to Web3 by joining the Cronos ecosystem as a validator node operator. Google Cloud will also collaborate with Cronos to provide developers with the resources they need to build the next generation of decentralized applications, leveraging Google Cloud's secure infrastructure, advanced AI capabilities, and powerful data analytics tools."

Onboarding of Google Cloud as a validator

Google Cloud is joining a pool of 32 validators on the open-source Cronos EVM protocol, contributing to the stability and security of the network. Nodes are crucial to the decentralized validation of transactions by producing or confirming new blocks every few seconds. 

The addition of Google Cloud aligns with Cronos’ strategy of partnering with open-source contributors and validators known for their robust technical expertise. Contributors to the Cronos ecosystem include Crypto.com, Blockdaemon, Ubisoft, Exaion and other top-tier validators.

Technical innovation with Google Cloud to enhance Cronos's performance

Cronos Labs has used Google Cloud to create the infrastructure underpinning Cronos zkEVM, the Layer-2 blockchain network powered by ZK Chain technology. Leveraging the strengths of the existing Cronos EVM and Cronos POS networks, Cronos zkEVM expands the Cronos universe into Ethereum’s vibrant Layer 2 galaxy.

With Google Cloud's cutting-edge infrastructure and deep ZK expertise, Cronos zkEVM aims to achieve new levels of performance and accessibility, empowering users and developers in the Web3 space. 

The high-performance Cronos zkEVM infrastructure leverages: Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Autopilot and Gateway, to easily scale and manage the network infrastructure; AlloyDB, a fully managed PostgreSQL-compatible database with better performance and support for zkSync (zkEVM) technology; and Google Compute Engine to generate zero-knowledge proofs using NVIDIA L4 GPUs.

These advanced technologies, combined with Google Cloud's expertise in AI and data analytics, position Cronos for accelerated growth and innovation within the Web3 landscape.

Increasing developer adoption of Cronos and Google Cloud at the intersection of AI and blockchain

Cronos’ collaboration with Google Cloud will emphasize innovation opportunities at the intersection of blockchain and AI to drive developer adoption. For example, Cronos launched its full blockchain datasets on Google Cloud’s platform for both the Cronos EVM chain and the Cronos zkEVM chain. Google Cloud's Blockchain Analytics capability offers indexed blockchain data made available through BigQuery for easy analysis with SQL. 

These datasets open the door to innovative use cases such as enabling end-users to query the blockchain in natural language, allowing AI agents to use the blockchain for transactions with other AI agents, and allowing both end-users and enterprises to surface trading opportunities by identifying trends and patterns in public blockchain data.

To foster innovation within the Cronos developer community, the two companies will also co-host virtual hackathons designed to offer developers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI and blockchain technologies and connect with industry experts.   

Value creation package for startups of the Cronos Accelerator program

Cronos Labs will continue its collaboration with the Google for Startups Cloud Program to enhance its Accelerator Program, providing startups with resources to develop innovative AI-enabled Web3 applications within the Cronos ecosystem.

As part of Google Cloud’s program, Cronos Accelerator startups have access to a dedicated package of Google Cloud, learning resources including training and mentorship on how to build and scale applications with AI, and additional benefits across Google products and its Web3 partner ecosystem. 

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is a leading blockchain ecosystem that has partnered with Crypto.com and more than 500 application developers and contributors representing an addressable user base of more than a hundred million people around the world. Cronos' mission is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custody in Web3, with a focus on Decentralized Finance and Gaming.

The Cronos universe encompasses 3 chains: Cronos zkEVM, a new high-performance layer 2 network secured by Ethereum; Cronos EVM, the leading Ethereum-compatible blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK; and Cronos POS, a leading Cosmos chain for payments and NFTs.

Cronos ranks among the top 15 blockchain ecosystems, encompassing more than 6 billion dollars of user assets. Since its inception, it has securely settled more than 150 million transactions.

On Cronos, users pay transaction fees in $CRO, a blue-chip cryptocurrency.

Cronos is supported by Cronos Labs, a 100 M$ Web3 start-up accelerator focused on DeFi, GameFi, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem.

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