Google Cloud has seamlessly integrated Solana into its BigQuery data analytics service, effectively facilitating convenient access to Solana-based data and extending its support to the 20th blockchain network.
Originally unveiled at Breakpoint 2022 in Lisbon, the incorporation of Solana into BigQuery aims to offer advanced insights into blockchain analytics. According to a statement, the launch of Solana support was anticipated in the first quarter, as stated by Nalin Mittal, the web3 lead at Google Cloud.
“The team at Google Cloud was dedicated to ensuring a thorough dataset and a comprehensive overview of on-chain activities before making Solana support live,” explained Dan Albert, the executive director of the Solana Foundation, in a statement provided to The Block.
BigQuery serves as Google Cloud’s serverless data warehouse, equipped with embedded machine learning, artificial intelligence, and business intelligence tools, enabling users to query extensive datasets.
Dan Albert emphasized, “The Solana ecosystem is experiencing rapid growth, generating new innovations, data, and insights daily. This growth necessitates increased access to the insights and data generated on our network for the Solana community and the web3 industry. We are proud that the Solana Foundation has collaborated with Google Cloud to enhance the accessibility, transparency, and openness of Solana.”
According to the Solana Foundation, a diverse range of users, from developers to enterprises and individual users, can employ Solana data for intricate inquiries regarding transactions, NFT creation, wallet activities, and more. By harnessing Google’s Bigtable distributed data storage service alongside BigQuery, the ecosystem can also deliver access to archival data from the Solana network.
Acquiring NFT data
The Multichain NFT app, Floor, is among the pioneers in harnessing Solana integration to explore new use cases by transmitting Solana NFT sales and listing data to the BigQuery platform.
Chris Maddern, CEO of Floor, noted, “There’s a wealth of intriguing data that is slightly off-chain but has relevance to on-chain data, which, up to now, has not been easily accessible.”
The Solana Foundation commented on the traditional challenges of parsing NFT data within the Solana ecosystem, mentioning that it has often been intricate for the average user or only accessible at a high level. They emphasized that by combining on-chain data, such as sales, with Floor’s proprietary information, analysts and other users can delve deeper into the realm of Solana NFTs.
Maddern expressed enthusiasm for the forward-thinking Solana community, saying, “[The Solana community] is forward-thinking and at the forefront of innovation when it comes to building an open ecosystem. This felt like the right place for us to experiment and observe the outcomes. We are eager to contribute something valuable to the community that has warmly embraced us.”
Additional potential applications
Additionally, this integration holds significance for driving the adoption of web3 by web2 companies, as stated by Albert. He explained that many conventional technology and financial firms are still grappling with the true potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and how these technologies can optimize their operations. Albert emphasized that comprehensive datasets like BigQuery can provide enterprises and other web2 projects with valuable insights into the level of interest and activity within web3. This data helps them make more informed decisions about integrating blockchain technology into their businesses.
Albert also highlighted that the dataset empowers web3 developers to conduct more advanced research. They can utilize tools like Google Colab notebooks for in-depth analysis beyond simple SQL queries. He noted that the data in BigQuery is user-friendly and well-organized for external use, allowing anyone interested in web3 to delve into the intricacies of the Solana ecosystem and create compelling visuals to depict network activity.
Moreover, this resource proves particularly valuable for projects that need to monitor and compare user activity across different blockchains. Examples include comparing network fees between Solana and other blockchain networks and tracking the frequency of NFT mints across the top three preferred NFT chains, among other statistics.
The integration of Google Cloud’s BigQuery with its 20th blockchain network
Solana’s integration marks the 20th blockchain incorporated into Google Cloud’s BigQuery. This journey began with support for Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2018. Subsequently, in 2019, additional blockchain networks like Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Zcash were included. In the last month, Google Cloud integrated 11 more chains, namely Avalanche, Arbitrum, Cronos, Fantom, Near, Optimism, Polkadot, Polygon, Tron, along with the test networks Polygon Mumbai and Ethereum Goerli.
Beyond its integration with BigQuery, Google Cloud offers web3 infrastructure services, including the management of validator operations, which now includes Solana. Additionally, Google Cloud is actively working on extending its support for Solana within its Blockchain Node Engine node hosting service.
Google Cloud’s integration is the latest addition to a growing list of institutions providing infrastructure support for the Solana ecosystem. Visa expanded its USDC stablecoin settlement capabilities to the blockchain in September, and Solana Pay, Solana’s payment system, integrated with the e-commerce giant Shopify in August.
Regarding the evolution of web2’s adoption of web3, Dan Albert commented, “There has always been a narrative in web3 suggesting that blockchain and cryptocurrency will replace many of the systems established by traditional tech. From my perspective, it’s not about entirely replacing existing systems but optimizing the infrastructure we already have in place and expanding access through web3. This optimization is particularly noticeable in content creation, enabling creators to monetize their work more effectively through blockchain and royalties, as well as in enhancing payment infrastructure.”