Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by: Muhammad Zulhusni, Journalist, AOPG.

When people think of blockchain technology, Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies come to mind. However, it is currently one of the most promising technology trends with exciting potential across a wide range of use cases, including digital “smart” contracts, logistics and supply chain provenance and security, identity theft prevention, and many more.

Blockchain is hot right now. In fact, between 2019 and 2025, the global blockchain market is expected to increase at a CAGR of more than 69%.

And Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, could be the latest big tech giant to look into blockchain and how it could benefit Web 3.0 technology.

According to Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet — Google’s parent company, during Alphabet’s Q4 2021 Earnings Call, the company is looking at incorporating blockchain technologies into its main products and services.

When asked how Alphabet viewed Web3, Pichai said the company is researching numerous “areas of interest,” including augmented reality and how blockchain technology may be used to power computers and service layers such as YouTube and Google Maps.

Pichai stated that he considers innovation interesting and that it is something that the organisation wants to promote as much as possible. “The Web has always evolved, and it’s going to continue to evolve, and as Google, we have benefited tremendously from open-source technologies, so we do plan to contribute there,” he added.

Pichai also mentioned that Google’s cloud team, a new division that competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, is looking at using blockchain-based systems to meet customer demands.

Google recognises that as technology becomes more mainstream, businesses will require scalable, secure infrastructure to support their operations and networks. Therefore, they’re putting Google Cloud technology to work in the blockchain market, based on the following principles:

• Consistent with Google Cloud’s main business: They’re experts in data-driven innovation, with cutting-edge infrastructure, industry solutions, and other cutting-edge technology. They look for blockchain projects and collaborations that fit with their mission and expertise.
• User trust and governance: They will uphold their promise to their users by putting a strong emphasis on privacy and user trust, as well as strict adherence to applicable laws.
• Network-agnostic: Google’s infrastructure will strive to maintain network flexibility for the benefit of consumers.

Notably, these are only Alphabet’s initial thoughts on the upcoming decentralised web. Other companies, including well-known Silicon Valley IT titans, have been significantly more proactive in their adoption of Web3 than Google.

Block, Twitter, Microsoft, and Meta have all announced intentions for Web3 and cryptocurrency-based services. Polygon (MATIC) has partnered with a Reddit co-founder to build a $200 million Web3 game enterprise. Google, on the other hand, has remained a spectator until recently.

Pichai declined to comment on Google’s cryptocurrency efforts. However, it’s worth mentioning that Google has hired a former PayPal executive to help strengthen Google Pay, which has plans to expand into the cryptocurrency market.

As part of a company-wide push into financial services, including cryptocurrency, Arnold Goldberg has been given the duty of leading Google’s payments section.

“Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to […] As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it,” Bill Ready, Google’s President of Commerce, Payments, and Next Billion Users, told Bloomberg.

Blockchain is without a doubt one of the most advanced digital technologies available today. In comparison to traditional networks, it provides greater security, transparency, data immutability, and accessibility. While blockchain has proven crucial in many developments across several industries, it is still in its early stages.

Given how other tech giants are utilising blockchain and how innovative they are, it will be fascinating to watch what new innovations Google can come up with.

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