Key Takeaways
- OVHcloud serves “thousands” of blockchain and Web3 customers attracted by data sovereignty, says Jeffrey Gregor.
- The firm plans to offer Nvidia B300 GPUs as it expands its AI infrastructure.
- OVHcloud expects sovereign cloud demand to continue growing.
Data sovereignty is becoming a major selling point for crypto and Web3 companies seeking greater control over where their information is stored, OVHcloud General Manager Jeffrey Gregor has said.
Speaking to CCN at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Gregor said “thousands” of blockchain and Web3 customers used OVHcloud’s infrastructure.
He argued that crypto companies were particularly attracted to the European cloud provider’s emphasis on data control and freedom from vendor lock-in.
Gregor said these features would become increasingly important as artificial intelligence systems move larger volumes of potentially sensitive information across cloud infrastructure.
‘Thousands’ of Crypto and Web3 Customers Use OVHcloud
Gregor said crypto and Web3 had become a meaningful part of OVHcloud’s customer base.
The company has increased its presence at blockchain conferences in Toronto, Miami, and New York, while its European operations have attended similar events in Dubai and other locations.
“We’ve got thousands of customers that are doing blockchain and Web3,” Gregor said.
He argued that OVHcloud shared several principles with the crypto industry, particularly around sovereignty, transparency, and user control.
“We have very similar DNA and values,” Gregor said.
“It’s this sovereignty, control of data, transparency in our pricing and our offerings.”
Customers can decide where their workloads and data are located, helping them address sovereignty and data residency requirements across different jurisdictions.
“They can decide where their data goes,” he added.
Bitcoin Mining Is Banned, but Staking Is Supported
Despite its growing blockchain customer base, OVHcloud does not permit Bitcoin mining on its platform.
Gregor said mining consumed too much energy and placed excessive demands on computing resources.
“We specifically, like most other cloud providers, don’t allow Bitcoin mining on our platform because it uses too much energy and uses up the resources,” he said.
However, OVHcloud supports staking companies and other blockchain businesses seeking to operate nodes or build Web3 applications.
“We’ve got lots of customers doing staking and proper blockchain and Web3 workloads,” Gregor said.
Gregor said many opted for bare-metal servers because they wanted dedicated computing capacity and greater control over their virtualization and software stacks.
Those businesses also valued OVHcloud’s low-latency network and lack of ingress or egress bandwidth charges, he added.
“They can really count on making their transactions on our network,” Gregor said.
OVHcloud Rejects Vendor Lock-In Model
Large cloud providers are frequently criticized for making it easy to transfer data onto their platforms but expensive to remove it.
Gregor said OVHcloud had chosen to rely on pricing and performance to retain customers rather than making it costly for them to leave.
“We earn our customers’ business every day,” he said.
OVHcloud designs its own servers, operates its own data centers, and maintains a global fiber network.
The company does not charge customers for ingress, egress, or transfers between OVHcloud data centers.
Gregor said customers using other providers could initially focus on the hourly cost of a cloud computing instance before receiving an unexpected bill for data migration.
“They see how much they would pay per hour for an instance on public cloud compute, but then they get a huge bill for all the bandwidth they use to transfer their data around,” he said.
The issue could become particularly important for AI workloads, as customers may struggle to predict how much data a model will transfer during task execution.
OVHcloud customers can choose the speed of their connection, but data transfer is unmetered.
Gregor said the policy also made it easier for customers to use several cloud providers simultaneously.
“They can move in and out at any time,” he said. “We purposely make that easy because we also know that it’s a multicloud world.”
OVHcloud Expands AI Infrastructure
As well as its crypto customer base, OVHcloud is expanding its artificial intelligence offering amid growing demand for high-performance computing.
Gregor said the company had deliberately avoided making excessive investments during the early generative AI boom because many businesses were still uncertain about how to use the technology.
However, OVHcloud is now preparing to offer Nvidia’s latest B300 GPUs alongside a broader stack of AI infrastructure and services.
“We didn’t want to overinvest, but now we are coming out soon with the latest B300s,” Gregor said.
Despite the cloud industry’s shift toward virtual machines and serverless computing, Gregor said demand for bare-metal servers continued to grow.
“It’s bare-metal servers all the way down,” he said.
“Even in a serverless solution, there’s some server somewhere that’s running those workloads.”
Bare metal gives customers access to an entire physical server instead of a virtualized portion of one.
Businesses can install their preferred operating system, virtualization software, and technology stack without requiring the cloud provider to manage the underlying infrastructure.
Gregor said the model appealed to technically experienced businesses that wanted greater control and could manage their own servers.
OVHcloud Expects Sovereign Cloud Demand to Grow
Gregor also acknowledged that AWS, Microsoft, and Google had established a significant lead in the global cloud market.
He said OVHcloud did not expect to match the hyperscalers’ overall size but predicted that growing demand for AI computing and data sovereignty would expand the wider market.
“It’s not like we’re going to catch them, but a rising tide lifts all boats,” Gregor said.
OVHcloud was already gaining market share in bare-metal and was expected to expand its public cloud and AI businesses as new services became available, he added.
“This sector is just going to continue to grow, and we’ll grow along with it.”
Top Trending Crypto Articles
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
Dr. Guneet Kaur is a senior editor at CCN.com and a Science Fellow at Exponential Science. She is a fintech and blockchain expert with extensive experience in digital finance education, blockchain ecosystems, and cryptocurrency markets. She has worked with global media such as Cointelegraph, as well as education and blockchain platforms, to design and lead strategic content and learning initiatives. As an educator and assessor for top-tier executive programs, she bridges real-world fintech trends with academic insight.
Dr. Kaur is also a published researcher and peer reviewer across fintech and data science journals, including Financial Innovation Journal and International Journal of Big Data Intelligence and Applications. Her work spans data-driven analysis, Web3 innovation, and technical content development. With a strong foundation in both industry and academia, she translates complex financial technologies into practical applications, empowering learners, professionals, and institutions across the rapidly evolving digital finance landscape.
