Another huge company is entering the cryptocurrency market. Google has made moves to increase the visibility of its Google Pay service. And, yes, cryptocurrency is included in that mix. The company hired Arnold Goldberg, ex-Senior Vice President at PayPal, “to run its payments division.” That’s BloombergWho broke the news?
“The move is part of a broader strategy to team up with a wider range of financial services, including cryptocurrencies, said Bill Ready, Google’s president of commerce. The business, known for the Google Pay system and mobile wallet, has largely avoided the crypto industry.”
Similar Reading: Bitcoin still outpaces Trump, VISA and PayPal in 2019, according to Google Search.| Bitcoin Still Overtook Trump, VISA, PayPal, and Libra on Google Search in 2019
That is, at least for now. NewsBTC has all the details. The company is entering cryptocurrency cautiously.
Google’s Many Failures
The company’s financial division hasn’t been the most successful. Google Pay’s service is behind other competitors and in a competitive space where many people are trying to gain an edge. In Plex, Alphabet Inc. recently partnered with 11 bank branches and cancelled everything. “We’re not a bank — we have no intention of being a bank,” said the company’s president of commerce Bill Ready in a recent interview.
However, there are many positive aspects to the business:
“Google does have enormous consumer reach and a huge balance sheet. The technology giant takes no fees on transactions with its mobile wallet, and Ready said there are no plans to change that.”
Chart of Alphabet Inc. prices on Nasdaq Source: TradingView.com| Source: TradingView.com
What Will The Company’s Crypto Play Consist Of?
Let’s be clear about this, the technology giant is only testing the waters. They haven’t announced anything crazy, nor are they developing technology themselves. Still, it’s a great improvement from their “largely avoided the crypto industry” policy. How are they accomplishing this?
“Google has partnered with companies, including Coinbase Global Inc. and BitPay Inc., to store crypto assets in digital cards, while still having users pay in traditional currencies. Ready said Google is looking to do more of these partnership, though the company still isn’t accepting crypto for transactions.”
Since that’s a little vague, Yahoo! Yahoo! FinanceHere are some thoughts:
“Late last year crypto platform Bakkt said its virtual Visa debit card would be available for use on Google Pay online and in stores. Bakkt’s Google Pay support follows in the footsteps of Coinbase, which rolled out support for Apple Pay and Google Pay for its Coinbase Cards earlier this year. Google is also working with Bitpay and Gemini to support their crypto cards, meaning that people who use these cards can add them to Google Pay.”
To further emphasize the lightness of the company’s crypto play, Bill Ready told Bloomberg:
“Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to. As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it.”
How Did The Market React To Google ‘s Announcement?
As soon as the article went live and the news started spreading through the Internet, both Bitcoin and Ethereum’s prices spiked for a little while. After people had read the exact announcement by Google, excitement subsided. For a time, the two most popular cryptocurrencies were trading horizontally and trending slightly downwards. And this announcement wasn’t strong enough to change that.
Similar Reading: Coinbase Offers Crypto Purchase With Apple Pay and Google Pay| Coinbase Adds Option To Buy Crypto With Apple Pay, Google Pay To Follow
Maybe it should’ve been, though.
PhotoMIX-Company featured image on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView