Despite Bitcoin’s decline, Google is betting big on cryptos

News hardware Despite Bitcoin’s decline, Google is betting big on cryptos

Google invests heavily in blockchain and cryptos

Although Google remains cautious about its involvement in the web3, the American web giant seems to be very interested in this subject. Unlike Facebook, the Silicon Valley company hasn’t had much to say about blockchain-centric uses of the Internet.

However, when Facebook turned into Meta, Google invested billions in the new technology that will populate the Internet of the future. To do this, Google has injected huge capital into start-ups in the blockchain sector through its Alphabet structure.

Alphabet has invested nearly $1.56 billion in the period from September 2021 to June 2022. The initiative aims to finance the future giants of the web3, the internet of tomorrow (or today). In particular, the structure has invested in:

• FireBlocks (digital asset storage and transfer platform)
• Dapper Labs (NFT company in the video game sector)
• Voltage (Bitcoin infrastructure for business)
• Digital Currency Group (cryptocurrency capital company)

By incubating start-ups that specialize in cryptos and blockchain, Google’s goal is to keep an eye on future projects that could attack its search engines and browsers in the future. In this context, brands can already provide functionality and services that are compatible with this new generation of web.

This news may seem surprising when we learn that corporate America has expressed skepticism about the technology some time before.

Web3, what has changed?

By being financially involved in the construction of the web3, the internet giant wants to lay the foundations, as it did initially for webs 1 and 2. To understand Google’s interests, it is important to study the different generations of the web.

Emerging in the 1990s, web 1.0 was the beginning of the Internet. This web generation is primarily defined by free access pages with little interaction, allowing Internet users to consult online information on Yahoo or AOL.

Then we talk about Web2 for the early 2000s. A more permissive Internet for users is supported by the arrival of giants like Google and Facebook. Users then for the first time become real actors of the web by publishing content on blogs, social networks or forums.

Web3 is a worthy successor to web2. This generation, which emerged after the creation of Bitcoin, refers to a more decentralized internet, not belonging to any big company. The ultimate goal of web3 is to integrate web2 innovations and replace intermediaries with blockchain for direct interaction between individuals. Concretely, this Internet is still at an embryonic stage should offer Internet users the option of being able to monetize their content with cryptocurrencies and exploit their proprietary rights on the web thanks to NFT. All are equipped with a 3D virtual world, better known as the metaverse.

While this definition may not seem optimal, several companies are also supporting Google in this transition.

Google isn’t the only giant investing in crypto

This initiative is part of a fundamental trend as several digital giants invest in the blockchain sector. According to Data blockamong these big investors we find:

• Samsung for $979 million
• PayPal for $650 million
• Microsoft for $447 million

While most of the financed companies specialize in cryptocurrency exchanges, we note that the video game sector and NFT trading platforms are also the investments of choice for this giant.

Although the overall value of the cryptocurrency market has taken a hit after Bitcoin’s crash, the injection of billions into the ecosystem demonstrates the company’s greatest enthusiasm for the sector. By investing so much, it is clear that the company is positioning themselves in the logic of sustainable web3 development.