Google is secretly entering the cryptocurrency market. “Cryptocurrency is something we pay a lot of attention to,” says Bill Ready, head of business at Google.
Google may be preparing to make an entrance into the crypto world.
The company hired a former PayPal executive and partnered with Coinbase and Bitpay.
Google's cryptocurrency plans are unclear, but its entry into the industry will have major implications.
Google has hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg to head its payments division, in a move to expand its users' access to financial services, including cryptocurrencies. Despite historically staying away from crypto, Google is now more actively considering the industry, according to the company's head of commerce, Bill Ready.
Google is quietly entering the cryptocurrency market!
According to Bloomberg, Google has hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg as a new vice president and general manager for its payments and emerging markets division. The payments and emerging markets division is part of Google's Next Billion Users initiative. Bill Ready, Google's head of commerce, formerly PayPal's chief operating officer, stressed that the hiring move is part of Google's expansion into more financial services, including cryptocurrencies.
In addition, Peeyush Ranjan was promoted to general manager of consumer payment services at Google. Ranjan is a Google engineer who led the expansion of Google Pay in India, the country where Google Pay is most successful. The company has also joined forces with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and digital currency payment provider BitPay to allow users to store their crypto assets on “digital cards.” However, users will still spend in fiat instead of crypto. Ready noted that Google has plans for more of these types of partnerships.
Google head of commerce: Crypto is something we pay close attention to!
While Google doesn't accept cryptocurrencies as payment, Ready stressed that "crypto is something they're paying close attention to" and that "as user demand and vendor demand evolve, they will evolve with it." Ready referred to Google's ambitions to become the ultimate connector of the entire consumer finance industry, although its crypto plans are still not fully revealed. Drawing attention and perhaps unintentional tribute to Web3, the executive said:
Helping more activity happen on a free and open network… This naturally supports our overall business.
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