Google Cloud has joined the EOS blockchain community with the intent of becoming a block producer. This would require approval of the EOS community. EOS, which has often been criticized for excessive centralization, has 21 block producers in total. In the company's press release, Google Cloud developer and advocate, Allen Day, is quoted confirming that his company is starting the process of becoming a block producer:
As organizations begin to incorporate distributed ledger technology into their infrastructures, we are committed to ensuring that the information on public blockchains are securely stored, reliably available, and can be accessed in meaningful ways.”
In the same document, Block One's CEO Brendan Blumer purported that EOS is responsible for the majority of public blockchain activity, though he did not specify the criteria through which he reached that conclusion:
“With the majority of global public blockchain activity, EOS is a powerful solution for anyone looking to leverage the decentralized ecosystem with ease".
Block One also announced that a former Goldman Sachs executive named R. Martin Chavez will be leading the company's advisory board.
Block One, the company behind EOS, was originally co-founded by current independent presidential candidate, Brock Pierce — though the aspiring politician was removed from the company several years ago. Throughout his career, Pierce has been embroiled in a number of controversies.