By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 23rd, 2024
Under the given conditions, Bitcoin continues gaining traction, therefore, Google, Apple, and Facebook need to find new revenue streams.
While Bitcoin is gaining traction even despite the coronavirus crisis, technology giants Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) are losing momentum. Bitcoin’s strength breeds competition that may result in the tech giants’ intention to kill BTC for own survival. Because of the pandemic, their major sources of revenue – advertising business in cases of Google and Facebook and iPhone sales in Apple’s case – are at a low ebb, and it is unlikely whether they will recover after the crisis. Therefore, Google, Apple, and Facebook need to find new revenue streams.
Google Entrying Banking Service
Recently, Google was reported to be working on its new smart debit card. Its payment system will allow users to make purchases through card, online, or mobile handsets. Besides, the card will integrate with the Google Pay app, enabling users to keep track of their expenses, balances, and account access. To develop the card, Google has teamed up with Citibank and Stanford Federal Credit Union. The Card will initially come with a Visa-powered chip, but later, Google may add support for other payment processors like Mastercard.
According to Google, customers will “benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools.” Dubbed “Cache”, the service is expected to significantly expand Google Pay’s capabilities. The date of the card release is unknown, but the initiative will definitely take place this year.
Credit Card from Apple
Last year, Apple launched its own credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. Apple Card differs from other cards by combining excellent rewards with a consumer-friendly app. It offers 3% cashback on purchases at Apple, 2% cashback on all purchases made on the card through Apple Pay, and 1% cashback on other purchases. Apple Card provides transparency, simplicity, and privacy and charges no fees. But if customers fail to pay the full balance by the due date, they can attract the interest of 12.99% to 23.99% based on their creditworthiness.
Facebook and Its Libra
To compete with Bitcoin, Facebook has been long working on its Libra currency. For some time, there has been no news about the developing process, and there were reports about Facebook abandoning the project. However, it is not so. Indeed, the Libra Association pulled away from its original vision of a global stablecoin pegged to a basket of national currencies. Instead, the Association plans to develop several stablecoins to represent different fiat currencies. One Libra coin could be pegged to the Euro, another to the U.S. dollar, and so on.
What about Bitcoin?
Now let us turn to Bitcoin. Its first advantage that comes to mind is functioning without a government, central bank, or technology company behind it. Maintained by an evolving and decentralized network and beholden only to the mathematical principles, Bitcoin is stable without authority. It has no CEO, no advertising budget. Not one authority can interfere in Bitcoin transactions, impose transaction fees or take people’s money away. Besides, its movement is extremely transparent, as every single transaction is stored in a massive distributed public ledger.
Notably, Bitcoin appeared during the last economic crisis. But in Silicon Valley, centralization is the main principle. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google’s Sundar Pichai are running tight ships. Developing new products to penetrate deeper into the financial sector, they all focus on centralization. But as more people are considering Bitcoin for investment, Facebook’s, Apple’s and Google’s products are unlikely to take an absolute advantage over the digital currency leader.