US derivatives exchange operator CME Group is piloting solutions for tokenized assets using Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), a new distributed ledger that was designed for traditional financial institutions.
According to a March 25 announcement, CME has already begun integrating GCUL to improve capital market efficiency and wholesale payments.
CME Group chairman and CEO Terry Duffy said GCUL could “deliver significant efficiencies for collateral, margin, settlement and fee payments as the world moves toward 24/7 trading.”
The announcement did not provide specific details about which assets would be tokenized. CME Group and Google Cloud will begin testing the technology with market participants in 2026.
Source: CME Group
Before the March 25 announcement, there were no details about GCUL. However, Google Cloud has been expanding into blockchain technology for several years, beginning in 2018 by adding Bitcoin blockchain data to its data warehouse.
In 2023, Google Cloud