The Celo Foundation, provider of a carbon-negative, Ethereum virtual machine-compatible (EVM) blockchain ecosystem, has announced that Google Cloud is running a validator on its network.

A validator participates in the running of the blockchain and helps maintain its security by staking their own crypto to support the network, and validating new transactions. Google Cloud joins contributors such as Deutsche Telekom – T-Systems is ranked as one of the top 10 validator groups – alongside a16z, Binance, and ‘human empowerment protocol’ impactMarket, also all in the top 10.

Alongside this, the foundation confirmed that community members had voted for a proposal for Celo to transition from an independent layer-1 blockchain to an Ethereum layer-2 solution to ‘provide scalability, security, and more real-world use cases to the Ethereum ecosystem.’

The proposal was from cLabs, the primary architect of the Celo blockchain, who announced plans to ‘return home’ at the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris last month. The vote passed 100% in favour.

Google Cloud’s move has been analysed as a success for not just the Celo network, but for wider blockchain technology. Benzinga described the entry as a signal for mainstream blockchain adoption. The two firms have previously collaborated, announcing in April an initiative to help sustainability-focused startups in the Celo network build and scale Web3 applications. Founders who build on Celo get credits for Google Cloud, as well as Firebase, Google’s mobile development platform.

“Google Cloud and the Celo Foundation have a shared mission to leverage blockchain technology and innovation to bolster sustainable solutions for everyday people and the planet,” said Xochitl Cazador, Celo Foundation head of ecosystem growth. “The Celo community is honoured to have Google Cloud choose us, highlighting a mutual commitment to the broader adoption of Web3 tools and for scalable, real-world solutions.”

You can find out about both announcements at the foundation’s Medium page.