Google has expanded its range of features to allow users to search for wallet balances across multiple blockchains, including Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom. By entering the wallet address, users can view the token balance by network and the time of the last update.
Users can search for Bitcoin addresses in three different formats – P2PKH, P2SH, and Bech32 – and can see their current balances and recent transactions.
This integration of Bitcoin data into search results enhances Google’s accessibility to on-chain activity, utilizing its vast daily search volume.
While some view Google’s new feature as a step towards mainstream adoption, privacy-focused Bitcoin supporters have expressed concerns about centralized data aggregation and its impact on privacy.
Google’s latest feature follows the introduction of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain search results, which allows users to check wallet balances using readable domain names like “vitalik.eth” for Ethereum wallet addresses.
This recent expansion builds on Google’s initial introduction of Ethereum wallet balance searches in May 2023. In 2022, Google incorporated a crypto feature that enabled certain Ethereum wallet addresses to have their Ether (ETH) balances tracked by the Google search engine, eliminating the need to visit Etherscan.
The addition of wallet searches signifies a change in the stance of the tech giant. Google banned Bitcoin-related advertisements in 2018 but has recently reversed this decision, now allowing advertisements for spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following their approval in the United States in January. Search results now include ETF products from prominent asset managers like BlackRock.
In October 2022, Google partnered with Coinbase to enable its customers to pay for cloud services with cryptocurrency.
Furthermore, the tech company initiated a countdown to the Ethereum Merge event, which is the transition of Ethereum from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) in 2022. This event was showcased through animated pandas moving in sync.
In 2023, Google Cloud collaborated with Web3 startup Orderly Network to develop user-centric developer tools for decentralized finance (DeFi) in order to reduce barriers to entry into the decentralized world. This collaboration aimed to address the long-standing challenges of entry barriers and security issues in the DeFi ecosystem.