Google, the dark horse of Web3.
We have this friend, Greg.
Greg is a well dressed, softly spoken, fine arts major - and he presents as such.
One thing most people don't know about Greg, is that he's a blackbelt in jiu jitsu, and LOVES the UFC.
One of our favorite things to do is watch peoples' reactions when they first meet him, as the conversation inevitably turns from 'art in the modern era,' to 'how to effectively choke someone unconscious.'
It's WILD! No one ever sees it coming. Greg is a dark horse.
And if you're wondering where we're going with this, it's here:
In the Web3 space, Google is Greg.
...the quiet and unassuming super fan.
Throughout the Web3 and crypto boom of the past few years, they've stayed pretty quiet about blockchain technology.
But it turns out silence does not equal disinterest.
According to a report from Blockdata released earlier this month, Google has been heavily investing in the space (for a while now), to the tune of $1.5 billion.
Here's where Google is investing/what it could mean for Web3:
Google's venture arm has put money into four different companies, with a field of focus that we'd describe as...
'Easier Web3 payments, with a hint of gaming and collectibles.'
The first three (Fireblocks, Digital Currency Group and Voltage), all share a common goal of making the buying, spending, storing and trading of cryptocurrency, easier in some way.
The fourth, Dapper Labs, is focused on NFT collectibles and Web3 games.
Here's how/why this could be HUGE for Web3:
Android, the worlds largest mobile operating system, is owned and developed by Google.
We wouldn't be surprised if these investments led to a crypto payments integration within the Google Wallet app (which is often installed by default on Android phones).
A change like this has the capacity to onboard 2.5 billion+ Android users, into Web3, with a simple software update.
Which would then set the stage for the adoption of Web3 games and collectibles.
Google, you dark horse.
