Google has finally hopped on the crypto bandwagon. With the crypto industry now worth a mouth-watering $1 trillion, it can no longer be disregarded.
Google Adds ‘Crypto’ Tab To Feed
With many institutions coming into the crypto space in the last year, and many more projected to make a move soon, Google is making the crypto transition, as many had expected.
Through its Google Finance domain, the American tech company will enable its Google Finance users to get up-to-date price movements for their favorite cryptocurrencies. The domain platform, which originally catered for stock and currency markets, will see ‘crypto’ debut in its “compare markets” finance segment.
The new addition will let users know the latest price changes for popular virtual assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
Google had taken a stand-offish approach to the emerging blockchain technology previously. During the early years of cryptocurrencies gaining steam, the Alphabet subsidiary had banned crypto adverts on its platform. It went as far as bringing down videos on its Youtube platform that discussed cryptocurrencies.
But in a 2018 Blockchain Summit in Morocco, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Alphabet Inc., noted that the company had clearly missed it when it came to the nascent technology. Rumors are now making the rounds that the company is quietly acquiring crypto startups and investing in established crypto businesses. Ripple Labs’ is also mentioned as one of its crypto partners.
Crypto Now Gaining Global Attention
Bitcoin has played a vital role in cryptocurrencies reaching the enviable heights it is now on. With the premier digital asset owning a large share of the $1.6 trillion crypto market, global institutions and tech companies have found it hard to ignore it.
MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm based in Virginia, United States, has been beating the crypto drums for some time now. With its remarkable investments in BTC, it now holds a sizable share of BTC available in the ecosystem.
Electric car company Tesla Inc. also moved into the crypto space with an initial $1.5 billion investment in BTC. It is also looking to use the virtual asset as a payment solution, just like Mastercard and Visa plan to do.
The increased demand is making global financial regulators jittery as the sector is largely decentralized. TUS Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce have called for a dynamic regulatory framework. Peirce says this will better aid the development of the nascent technology and reduce its potential for misuse.
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