Bitcoin Wallet Balances Integration by Google Stirs Privacy Controversy

Crypto News- Google has once again made waves in the crypto sphere, expanding its repertoire to include wallet balance searches across various blockchains. With this latest feature, users can now effortlessly scour their balances across multiple networks like Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom. Simply input your wallet address, and Google will furnish you with up-to-date token balances categorized by network, along with the last updated timestamp.

Bitcoin Wallet Balances Integration by Google Stirs Privacy Controversy

This move undoubtedly enhances Google’s accessibility to on-chain activities, tapping into its colossal daily search volume. While many hail this as a stride towards mainstream adoption, not everyone is applauding. Privacy-conscious Bitcoin advocates have sounded the alarm over centralized data aggregation, expressing concerns about its implications for privacy.

This isn’t Google’s first foray into crypto integration. The tech titan previously introduced Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain search results, enabling users to easily check wallet balances using readable domain names like “vitalik.eth” for Ethereum addresses. This latest expansion follows Google’s introduction of Ethereum wallet balance searches in May 2023.

Google’s evolving stance on crypto is evident. Despite its previous ban on Bitcoin-related advertisements in 2018, the company has reversed course, now permitting spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) ads following their approval in the United States. Notable ETF products from the likes of BlackRock now grace search results.

Google’s Crypto Embrace: Partnership with Coinbase and Ethereum’s PoW to PoS Transition

In a bid to further embrace crypto, Google partnered with Coinbase in October 2022, allowing customers to pay for cloud services using digital currencies. The tech giant has also been actively engaged in Ethereum’s journey, even featuring a countdown to the Ethereum Merge event—a pivotal transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS)—with animated pandas in 2022.

Looking ahead, Google Cloud has joined forces with Web3 startup Orderly Network to develop user-centric developer tools for decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2023. Together, they aim to tackle DeFi’s longstanding hurdles, particularly entry barriers and security concerns, thereby facilitating broader access to the decentralized world.