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Google has expanded its features to allow users to search for wallet balances on multiple blockchain networks such as Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom. When a wallet address is entered, search results display the token balance according to the network, along with the last update time. Users can search in three Bitcoin address formats: P2PKH, P2SH, and Bech32, and view their current balances and recent transactions.
Google’s New Feature Sparks Debate
Including Bitcoin data in search results leverages Google’s extensive daily search volume while increasing its access to on-chain activities. While some laud Google’s new feature as a move towards mainstream adoption, privacy-focused Bitcoin supporters have expressed concerns about centralized data collection and its impact on privacy.
Google’s latest feature follows the introduction of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain name search results, allowing users to check wallet balances with readable domain names like vitalik.eth for Ethereum wallet addresses.
Google’s recent expansion is based on its initial launch of Ethereum wallet balance searches in May 2023. In 2022, Google integrated a crypto feature that enabled tracking of Ethereum wallet balances through the Google search engine, eliminating the need to visit Etherscan.
Google Makes Noteworthy Moves
The addition of wallet searches indicates a change in the tech giant’s attitude. Google had banned Bitcoin-related ads in 2018 but recently reversed this stance, allowing ads for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following their approval in the US in January. Products from major asset managers like BlackRock can now be displayed in search results. In October 2022, Google partnered with Coinbase to allow its customers to pay for cloud services with crypto.
The tech company also launched a countdown with animated pandas moving in sync for the Ethereum Merge event in 2022, which marked Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). In 2023, Google Cloud joined forces with Web3 startup Orderly Network to create user-centric developer tools for decentralized finance (DeFi) with the aim of reducing barriers to entry into the decentralized world.
The collaboration aimed to address some of DeFi’s biggest hurdles, including long-standing entry barriers and security issues within the ecosystem.
