When the debate about how to gain wider acceptance for cryptocurrencies starts to include moves by internet giant Google, CFD traders know that things are really starting to move forward. With the company’s recent moves into opening up their search and analysis tools to cover several blockchain datasets already proving that it is taking the crypto sector very seriously indeed, its latest innovation could have important implications for the digital coin sector in general and for Bitcoin in particular.
Just over ten years have elapsed since Bitcoin’s Genesis Block burst onto the scene and opened up a whole new financial way of doing things, and today the seriousness of crypto forex trading can be acknowledged by the volume of CFD trades that rely on it as just one example. Bitcoin has many imitators and a few serious rivals, but it is still the most widely recognized name of all the cryptocurrencies, and it is arguably still the most likely candidate to make the real crossover into both public awareness and general usage.
Landmark move
Now in what many are citing to be a landmark move for crypto, Google developers have added a Bitcoin currency symbol to the Google keyboard currency strip. Like many companies that have went on to achieve legendary household name status, Google has become a verb in itself, so to lend its support in such a high-profile way to a specific digital coin is a big deal that goes far beyond the crypto sector and forex trading.
The Bitcoin symbol is now available on the Google Keyboard on iOS devices and has already been used by a shortcuts app to aid Siri with certain command executions. However, as of yet, Apple’s native keyboard will not feature the symbol. For Windows, the Android symbol can be used by editing the registry and enabling a universal input method that is independent of language settings.
Why now?
Google has a history of supporting open-source natured projects, but the basic privacy concerns of many crypto supporters and enthusiasts might not be an obvious fit for a company that also has the collection of data at the basis of its whole operating culture and business model. So, it’s unclear as to why Google has chosen to make this particular move at this time, especially as the company’s approach to using its own proprietary software in all its many forms does seem to provide something of a possible ideological clash with the wider crypto sector.
The Bitcoin symbol is available exclusively on iOS rather than on the company’s Android offerings, which is another strange quirk of the decision due to the fact that most iOS users will tend towards using the native Apple keyboard.
Brand awareness
Although the hows and whys might be a cause for various disagreements, most people involved in crypto agree that a wider awareness and increased volumes of use are needed for the sector to grow. When it comes to brand awareness, Bitcoin is undoubtedly way in front of its rivals in the general public arena and Google’s new move will doubtless hasten an increase in mainstream acceptance for the coin.
As the Bitcoin symbol now features on the Google keyboard currency strip alongside established major fiat currencies including the dollar, euro, sterling, yen, Russian ruble and the cent symbol it can be argued that it is an important step in legitimizing the coin and the entire cryptocurrency concept by association. Sergey Brin, Google’s parent company Alphabet co-founder and president once said that it had “failed to be on the bleeding edge [of blockchain]” so perhaps this new initiative marks a turning point for the company too. However, only last year, Brin admitted that he doesn’t know “a whole lot about cryptocurrency” apart from running an amateur Ethereum mining rig that he set up with his son.
Alphabet and Goggle’s crypto future
The adoption and recognition of the Bitcoin symbol by Google certainly signals something for parent company Alphabet but working out just what that is might be hard to do at the present time. The company makes its revenue of billions of dollars from gathering data via its search engine and could be said to be reacting to information it has farmed in this way. Last year, the search query “What is bitcoin” was the most often asked in both the US and UK according to Google Trends.
Google restricted the display of crypto ads in 2018, although that ban has been partially lifted since, as Bitcoin’s price dropped 11%. This obvious display of power was not just noticed by CFD forex traders interested in Bitcoin, but by wider market analysts. The fact is that a company as powerful as Google and a movement with as much momentum as crypto, and Bitcoin in particular, could be the proverbial unmovable object and irresistible force. What is in no doubt is that what happens next will be eagerly awaited by many.