Google will allow users to store their bitcoins on “digital cards”

Better late than never. The technological giant Google would be about to formally enter the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem. For that, it has partnered with industry giants, such as the Coinbase exchange and the BitPay payment processor, with which it will begin to store cryptocurrencies in “digital cards”.

In order to attract more users, Google, of Alphabet Inc., wants to deepen the association with these companies, despite the fact that, at the moment, it does not accept cryptocurrencies for transactions carried out in the company's payment channel, Google. Pay.

Google's intention is for customers to keep their bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies on digital cards , while spending in fiat money. It is likely that they refer to a digital wallet, which is capable of storing crypto assets.

Bill Ready, president of commerce at Google, stated that cryptocurrencies "are something we pay a lot of attention to." “As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we will evolve with it,” he added, according to a Bloomberg review.

Former PayPal executive recruited

As part of the giant's strategy in favor of cryptocurrencies, it was learned that they hired a former PayPal executive, Arnold Goldberg, who will now be in charge of directing the company's payment division .

Goldberg will work shoulder to shoulder with Bill Ready and will take over the vacancy of the former Google manager. The idea, according to the president of commerce, is that the company becomes a "connective tissue of the entire consumer finance industry . "

More precisely, they will focus on reviewing the Google Pay application, which they want to turn into a "comprehensive digital wallet", which includes digital tickets, airline passes and even a vaccinated passport .

But they have a way to go. Google Pay, although it became better known in India, it did not suffer the same fate in other countries. In numbers, it is far behind the payment platform of Apple Inc., not to mention that they do not, at the moment, have a credit card or other products .

However, it is not limiting. Google is known to have a large consumer reach, plus it doesn't charge fees for transactions running in the wallet, and that doesn't look like it will change, Ready clarified.

In addition to that, Google is working to add more paid features within its search and shopping service . For the manager, this will help users to have a clear view of the full range of financial services that currently exist.

“Our goal is to help create connections. We are not a party to the conflict," he said, adding that payments are being integrated "more closely" with Google's purchasing efforts.

An indirect Google approach to bitcoin

That Google wants to update its wallet and make room for cryptocurrencies reaffirms that, in effect, that company wants to be related to bitcoin. In fact, he already did it once in the past, albeit indirectly .

It is difficult for Google not to know about cryptocurrency operations in this market, since since 2017, the CME has been trading bitcoin futures contracts. In addition, it expanded the offer of derivatives of the first cryptocurrency .

Meanwhile, and about PayPal, it is known that this company has opened wide to bitcoin. Already in March 2021, the company activated bitcoin payments in online stores and in the United States.

And then, it became known that he intended to launch cryptocurrency services in Latin America , a place where they see “significant potential”, since money transactions between countries would be facilitated.