Shalini Nagarajan

Crypto fans have another reason to be hopeful of Web2 giants going Web3: YouTube has a new chief executive officer who once floated integrating NFTs into the video sharing platform.



Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s long-serving CEO and one of its earliest employees, stepped down last week, ending her 25-year-long stint at the Google subsidiary.



She has been replaced by Indian-American tech executive Neal Mohan, who joined Google in 2008 and became a senior executive in the company’s display and video advertising business.



Mohan, an engineering graduate from Stanford University, was appointed chief product officer at YouTube in 2015. He was instrumental in building some of the platform’s biggest projects including YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium.



He was once offered the role of chief product officer at Twitter, but turned that down after Google put forth a counteroffer of $100 million so he would stay, TechCrunch <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/06/google-said-to-have-high-level-mole-at-twitter-makes-massive-counteroffers-to-retain-employees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> in 2011.



“He has a wonderful sense for our product, our business, our creator and user communities, and our employees. Neal will be a terrific leader for YouTube,” Wojcicki said in a <a href="https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-personal-update-from-susan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog</a> announcing her departure.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Thank you, <a href="https://twitter.com/SusanWojcicki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SusanWojcicki</a>. It&#39;s been amazing to work with you over the years. You&#39;ve built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I&#39;m excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb">https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb</a>&mdash; Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/nealmohan/status/1626294013254066176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Early last year, incoming CEO Mohan <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/youtube-doubles-down-on-nft-integration-exec-says" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hinted at potential future plans for NFTs</a>, saying YouTube believes in the underlying technology&#8217;s potential for helping creators develop deeper relationships with fans. 



“For example, giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences. There’s a lot to consider in making sure we approach these new technologies responsibly, but we think there’s incredible potential as well.”



Mohan also touched on the metaverse, saying YouTube was “thinking big” about how to make the viewing experience more immersive. He said it’s still early days, but YouTube would work to bring more interactions to gaming and “make them feel more alive.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">YouTube&#39;s newly appointed leader, <a href="https://twitter.com/nealmohan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nealmohan</a>, has been widely criticized and praised. With the rise of Web3 infrastructure and AI, there&#39;s a huge opportunity for the platform to evolve and grow in new ways. A thread 🧵&mdash; Daniel Forero (!chaos🔥) (@danielforeroj) <a href="https://twitter.com/danielforeroj/status/1626758368902754306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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That same month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company was “definitely looking at blockchain” and “looking at how we might contribute to the ecosystem and add value.” It was one of his first public comments on the technology.



Pichai described an example in which Google’s Cloud team explored how to support customer needs in “building, transacting, storing value and deploying new products on blockchain-based platforms.”



Google parent Alphabet was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/alphabet-poured-1-5b-into-blockchain-companies-over-10-months-study-finds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">among the largest listed companies</a> to invest in blockchain last year. 



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YouTube Has a New CEO Who Actually Gets NFTs

Ben Strack

A former executive at now-bankrupt BlockFi is set to lead Google Cloud’s Web3 efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, as the tech giant moves deeper into the sector.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishi-ramchandani/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rishi Ramchandi</a> was a vice president for the Asia region at crypto lender BlockFi, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blockfi-files-for-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> last month as ripple effects of FTX’s demise spread.



Google Cloud Managing Director Mitesh Agarwal <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7010934378117701632/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed</a> Google’s hire of Ramchandi in a LinkedIn post Tuesday, having left BlockFi sometime this month.



Prior to his two-plus-year tenure at BlockFi, Ramchandi spent about a decade at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (now BofA Securities), where he worked as a global equities portfolio sales trader, as well as in other roles. He also co-founded PinAlpha, a financial research platform powered by artificial intelligence.



Ramchandi and Agarwal did not immediately return requests for comment. 



FTX in July offered BlockFi a $400 million revolving line of credit designed to keep it afloat after the collapse of Three Arrows Capital and others shook the market — and made a deal <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-reaches-deal-to-acquire-blockfi-for-up-to-240m" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to acquire BlockFi</a> outright for up to $240 million. BlockFi said a day before FTX’s bankruptcy that given the lack of clarity about FTX and its affiliates, such as Alameda Research, it was “not able to operate business as usual.”



<a href="https://workincrypto.global/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WorkInCrypto.Global</a> founder Sam Wellalage <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-employees-enter-tight-market" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks</a> last month that executives from FTX and BlockFi he had spoken to wanted to remain in Web3 — noting that recent company collapses in the crypto space will ultimately be a positive for the industry.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/alphabet-ceo-says-company-definitely-looking-at-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> earlier this year that the tech giant was “definitely looking at blockchain,” calling it “an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications.”&nbsp;



Google’s cloud unit <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/googles-cloud-group-forms-web3-product-and-engineering-team.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">created a team</a> in May to build services for developers running blockchain applications.



And in October, Google Cloud unveiled a node-hosting service for Web3 developers called the <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure-modernization/introducing-blockchain-node-engine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockchain Node Engine</a>. The tool, designed to help build and deploy on blockchain-based applications and platforms, was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/google-signals-major-crypto-push-with-ethereum-solana-support" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">initially set to support</a> Ethereum.&nbsp;



The company <a href="https://twitter.com/googlecloud/status/1588927896911069184" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> last month that Google Cloud was working with Solana to bring Blockchain Node Engine to that chain next year.



Google Cloud’s move into Web3 infrastructure mirrors Amazon’s offering, Managed Blockchain, which has supported Ethereum nodes-as-a-service since last year.



Updated Dec. 21, 2022 at 1:09 pm ET: Added additional context on BlockFi&#8217;s bankruptcy.



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BlockFi Exec To Lead Google Cloud’s Web3 Efforts Across Asia-Pacific

Jack Kubinec

As tech executives are forced to account for <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/big-tech-trading-like-bitcoin-on-a-bad-day-after-disappointing-earnings/">tumbling revenues</a> to investors, a new scapegoat has emerged: crypto.



Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/google-summer-ad-business-falls-after-crypto-winter/">blamed</a> the company’s growth slowdown in part on a drawdown in ad spending by crypto companies during a third quarter earnings call.&nbsp;



Semiconductor company AMD similarly <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/1/23435504/amd-q3-2022-earnings-profits-revenue-pc-sales">pegged</a> its own revenue disappointment, among other things, on falling demand for graphics processing units (GPUs) that can be used to mine crypto. Revolut, the upstart finance app, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-02/revolut-crypto-revenue-plunges-yet-ceo-storonsky-still-believes">said</a> crypto revenue fell from 30-35% to 5% of the company’s total since 2021.



Crypto has reached a milestone in its institutional adoption journey that most in the space would be happy to detour around.



“This is the first real quarter where you&#8217;re hearing these companies actively bringing up crypto as a reason for missed revenues,” Griffin McShane, head of insights and communication at MPCH Labs, said.



But crypto companies had to become intertwined with other tech companies for this revenue shortfall to happen in the first place.



In 2018’s crypto winter, Google was <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/alphabet-earnings-q4-2018.html">exceeding</a> earnings expectations, regardless of whether crypto companies were purchasing ads. But as venture capital and talented young coders created excitement around the potential of blockchain, the rest of the tech economy had no choice but to shift toward crypto. In 2022, crypto and tech prices <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-is-more-correlated-with-tech-stocks-than-ever-how-do-we-decouple/">tend to move in tandem</a>.&nbsp;



“If you&#8217;re running a profit-focused [tech] operation, you have to be supportive of blockchain and digital assets, because that seems to be where we are going,” David Tawil, CEO of ProChain Capital, said.



Crypto’s move to the mainstream has been fragmented and beset by unimpressive trading returns in 2022. Bitcoin mining, the original crypto-tech integration, was <a href="https://bitinfocharts.com/comparison/bitcoin-mining_profitability.html#1y">80% less profitable Monday</a> compared to a year ago.&nbsp;



But tech companies do seem to be headed in crypto’s direction, despite the revenue headaches. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/meta-pins-web3-hopes-on-instagram-creators-minting-nfts/">Meta</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/reddit-makes-pfp-nfts-cool-again-marketplace-trading-volume-surges/">Reddit</a> are integrating NFTs on their platforms. Google Cloud is <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/google-signals-major-crypto-push-with-ethereum-solana-support/">launching new partnerships</a> with the Ethereum and Solana communities.



Companies further from Web3 development are likely less affected by crypto’s rising and falling. Caterpillar, for example, hasn’t shown much desire to move its manufacturing to the blockchain, and metaverse real estate doesn’t need heavy equipment to build.



But in the tech sector, a world where every company sees itself partly as a crypto company may not be so far off.



“In many ways, I think we&#8217;re already there,” McShane said.



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Is Crypto to Blame for Tech Companies’ Woes?

Google Cloud has trumpeted a series of collaborations with popular blockchain networks Ethereum and Solana in recent weeks, accelerating the tech giant’s support of Web3.



Late last month, Google Cloud announced a node-hosting service for Web3 developers called the <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/infrastructure-modernization/introducing-blockchain-node-engine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockchain Node Engine</a>. The tool is designed to help build and deploy on blockchain-based applications and platforms.



Ethereum is the first blockchain supported by the engine. Rival network Solana is to <a href="https://twitter.com/googlecloud/status/1588927896911069184" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">follow soon</a>, per a tweet over the weekend. The post sparked a near-20% rally for the network&#8217;s native token, although it has since given up most of those gains.



“Web3 companies who require dedicated nodes can relay transactions, deploy smart contracts, and read or write blockchain data with the reliability, performance, and security they expect from Google Cloud compute and network infrastructure,” Google Cloud executives Amit Zavery and James Tromans said in a statement.



During this weekend’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaQf9DtjNHk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Breakpoint 2022 conference</a> in Lisbon, an event held by the Solana Foundation, Google’s Web3 lead Nalin Mittal explained that Google has really deepened its investment in the Web3 space throughout 2022. This has culminated in the formation of a dedicated Web3 team at Google Cloud.



“This is like a natural evolution for us because we saw a lot of our financial services crypto-native gaming customers do more and more blockchain-related workloads on [Google Cloud] and it was clear that a dedicated product suite for Web3 would serve them better,” Mittal said.



The Big G has indeed been busy backing crypto-native companies. Google parent Alphabet participated in <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/alphabet-poured-1-5b-into-blockchain-companies-over-10-months-study-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four funding rounds</a> in blockchain firms between September 2021 and June 2022, including crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group and Dapper Labs, the Web3 startup behind NBA Top Shot.



<h3>Google Cloud runs validators on Solana, alongside other blockchains</h3>



This weekend, Google Cloud tweeted to confirm that it’s participating in Solana consensus by running a <a href="https://twitter.com/googlecloud/status/1588927896911069184" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">validator</a>, a special kind of server node that processes transactions by adding blocks to the network’s chain.



But it’s not the first time Google has opted into a blockchain network. It began operating its first validator for proof-of-stake network Hedera Hashgraph in 2020. According to Mittal, the cloud unit now operates validators for a “lot of the top [layer-1] protocols.”



“We recognize how active and passionate [the Solana] community is, and we want to make it a top priority for Google Cloud,” Mittal said. Google Cloud will soon accept crypto payments for certain customers via a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-stock-pops-on-google-deal-to-accept-crypto-for-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnership with Coinbase</a> announced last month.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="549" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36983" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/googleweb3timeline-1024x549.jpg?w=1600 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaQf9DtjNHk">Solana/YouTube</a></figcaption></figure>



Google Cloud’s move into Web3 infrastructure mirrors Amazon’s offering, Managed Blockchain, which has <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/03/02/amazon-managed-blockchain-at-last-supports-ethereum-ending-a-two-year-tease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supported</a> Ethereum nodes-as-a-service since last year.



While Solana is known for its cheap and quick transactions, the network has suffered a bumpy road with <a href="https://status.solana.com/uptime?page=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five major outages</a> this year alone. Even so, the network remains among the most functional protocols in the Web3 ecosystem today, according to James Wo, CEO of investment firm DFG.&nbsp;



“Solana has a very robust cluster of DApps, NFTs, and smart contracts running on it, which accounts for what Google Cloud needs to build a robust portfolio of innovative and futuristic Web3 applications,” Wo told Blockworks.&nbsp;



“The embrace of Solana by Google Cloud is just another avenue to deepen its footprint, seeing as it has inked related deals with other Web3 projects, including NEAR, Hedera, and Aptos, among others.”



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Google Signals Major Crypto Push With Ethereum, Solana Support

Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_63594d397f388" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The case fuels debate over whether US tech companies should turn over data held on systems outside the country</li>
 <li>A compliance monitor will ensure Google fulfills its legal obligations</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The US Department of Justice and Alphabet Inc.’s Google <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/google-enters-stipulated-agreement-improve-legal-process-compliance-program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> a joint stipulated agreement on Tuesday to close a dispute ongoing since 2016 in California federal court.



US District Judge Richard Seeborg signed the resolution in which Google admitted to a loss of data in response to a 2016 search warrant. The government agency sought data related to a criminal probe into the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.



Under the agreement, Google must reform and upgrade the compliance program that handles responses to legal demands such as subpoenas and search warrants.



Google has reportedly already spent over $90 million on additional resources, systems and staffing to improve its legal process compliance program, as stated in the press release.



The tech giant will also be required to bring on an independent compliance professional, serving as an outside third party, to assess Google’s adherence to the agreement and verify the accuracy of its update reports. These reports must be submitted to the government, the Google Compliance Steering Committee and the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Alphabet Board of Directors.



“The warrant underlying this agreement was sought in connection with a significant criminal investigation,” said US Attorney Stephanie Hinds for the Northern District of California, referring to a now defunct BTC-e.



The exchange has been shut down since July 2017, after the arrest of key staff members who were charged with being involved in money laundering schemes. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/alexander-Vinnik/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alexander Vinnik</a>, the alleged Russian operator of BTC-e, was sentenced to a five-year prison term by a Parisian court in June 2021. 



“This agreement will help to ensure that, moving forward, Google will maintain the technical capability and resources necessary to comply with lawful warrants and orders, such as the one at issue in this case, that are critical to federal criminal investigations,” Hinds added.



<h3>A Big Tech dilemma</h3>



The warrant was issued under the Stored Communication Act (SCA) statute that requires tech companies such as Google to disclose customer communications if there is probable cause.



The DOJ claimed that Google failed to turn over data stored outside the United States.



However, when the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in 2017 that foreign-held data couldn’t be reached under the SCA, Google only provided information stored in the United States, according to the DOJ.&nbsp;



The legal battle over the warrant between Google and the government carried into 2018, when Congress clarified the SCA did in fact require US providers to report any data stored abroad.



The Department of Justice said that “in the intervening time, data responsive to the warrant was lost.”



The press release noted that this agreement does not provide the US government with access to Google user data.



Even as Google’s compliance costs are on the rise, its ad revenue has gone the other way, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/google-summer-ad-business-falls-after-crypto-winter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dropping 2% to $7.1 billion in the last quarter</a> as advertisers slashed budgets.



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Google Agrees To Boost Compliance Program in DOJ Legal Battle

<div id="highlights-block_63592498841c6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Google’s quarterly ad revenue dropped 2% to $7.1 billion as advertisers slashed budgets</li>
 <li>YouTube ad revenue fell for the first time since the division began reporting performance in 2020</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Internet giant Google is seeing some financial pain as advertisers, including crypto firms, pull back on their spending alongside rising inflation.



Parent company Alphabet on Tuesday posted its <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2022Q3_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">third-quarter earnings</a> — a quarterly net profit of $13.9 billion — down 27% from a year ago, missing analyst estimates of $16.9 billion. Revenue climbed 6% to $69.1 billion, falling short of the $71 billion expectation.



The Mountain View, California-based company appears to have been affected by the crypto winter, rising interest rates and fears of slowing growth as the global economy is still reeling from the pandemic and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>.



Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, said in the <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4549115-alphabet-inc-goog-q3-2022-earnings-call-transcript" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earnings call</a> that the slump was driven in part by crypto companies and other financial firms trimming ad spending.



“In the third quarter, we did see a pullback in spend by some advertisers in certain areas and search ads,”&nbsp; he said. “For example, in financial services, we saw a pullback in the insurance, loan, mortgage and crypto subcategories.”



Schindler didn’t elaborate on which crypto subcategories contributed to the slide, but the company’s <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/7645254?hl=en#zippy=%2Cnorth-and-south-america" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strict crypto ads policy</a> is designed to shut out shady advertising or brazen scams.&nbsp;



Google didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.



Google’s advertising revenue from YouTube fell 2% to $7.1 billion, the first time the division reported a loss. Meanwhile, revenue from Google search ads rose 4.2% to $39.5 billion, but but the division missed forecasts for 8% growth.



Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai described the period as a “tough time in the ad market,” and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat blamed the year-on-year slump on “further pullbacks in advertiser spend.”



The cryptocurrency market has trended downward this year, hit by a mix of recessionary fears and the collapse of the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terra/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terra</a> ecosystem, with 2021 darling assets such as Solana down over 90% year to date. Price volatility forced major industry players including <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/#:~:text=Coinbase%20To%20Cut%2018%25%20of%20Workforce%2C%20CEO%20Wary%20of%20Potential%20Recession,-Coinbase's%20decision%20to&amp;text=Coinbase%20will%20slash%20its%20workforce,CEO%20Brian%20Armstrong%20on%20Tuesday." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>,<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/blockchain-com-slashes-25-of-workforce-cuts-exec-compensation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Blockchain.com </a>and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockFi</a> to rejig operations and lay off thousands of employees. 



Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is generally not what Web3 businesses do, and not what they have historically been doing, according to Adrian Krion, founder and CEO of blockchain gaming startup Spielworks.



“Right now, [lower ad spending] is also related to the low interest and the bear market,” he told Blockworks, adding that businesses in the industry are expected to rely on proven practices like content and viral marketing until Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/12055790?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">financial product and services policy</a> is made clearer.



<h3>Google bets on Coinbase for revenue diversification</h3>



Despite the bearish sentiment, the crypto winter is not broadly seen as a terrible thing for the industry as a whole, as times of slow growth are helpful in rooting out conceptually weak projects and carving out space for others to innovate.



Google appears to accept that the drawdown in revenue from crypto-related advertisers won’t last long. Earlier this month, it inked a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-stock-pops-on-google-deal-to-accept-crypto-for-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deal with Coinbase</a> to soon begin accepting crypto payments from its cloud customers.



Lars Seier Christensen, chair of Concordium and founder of Saxo Bank, said Google’s new partnership is a “general endorsement of the crypto space” where an increasing number of businesses accept crypto as viable tender for goods and services. 



“But more importantly, it’s unquestionable that Google has done this to gain additional market share for its growing cloud business. This means that Google has recognized a real business potential in the equally growing number of crypto native businesses,” he added.



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Google Summer Ad Business Falls After Crypto Winter

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_62e3359f241e1" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Google and Apple are being pressed on how they police crypto-related fraud in mobile applications hosted on their app stores</li>
 <li>Letters issued to the tech giants&#8217; CEOs are part of Sen. Brown&#8217;s wider probe into crypto scams</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The heads of Google and Apple are staring down requests for&nbsp;information from the US government about how the tech giants implement safeguards and monitor for crypto fraud in&nbsp;mobile applications hosted on their app stores. 



Chairman&nbsp;of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), sent <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_alphabet_sundar_pichai_07272022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two</a> near-identical <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/chairman_brown_letter_to_apple_tim_cook_07272022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letters</a> Thursday to Google&#8217;s Sundar Pichai and Apple&#8217;s Tim Cook.



Brown, the committee&#8217;s chair since February, is requesting the companies describe their review processes for apps that make it onto their stores, as well as how they go about policing certain apps that circumvent their store policies.



The requests come as the senator ratchets up efforts to understand the scope of crypto-related scams. Also on Thursday, Brown chaired a <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/protecting-investors-and-savers-understanding-scams-and-risks-in-crypto-and-securities-markets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hearing</a> on “Protecting Investors and Savers: Understanding Scams and Risks in Crypto and Securities Markets.”



In it, the committee heard about how bad actors use marketing as a means to promote scams including through the use of apps hosted on Google&#8217;s and Apple&#8217;s stores.



Melanie Senter Lubin, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association and Gerri Walsh, senior vice president of investor education at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, both offered their insights during the hearing.



In his letters, the senator has sought information on the systems and processes the companies have in place for people to report fraudulent, apps as well as actions taken to alert users to fraudulent crypto app activity.



&#8220;While firms that offer crypto investment and other related services should take the necessary steps to prevent fraudulent activity, including warning investors about the uptick in scams, it is likewise imperative that app stores have the proper safeguards in place to prevent against fraudulent mobile application activity,&#8221; the senator wrote.



Apple and Google are being urged to respond to the senator&#8217;s request for information by no later than August 10, 2022.



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Google, Apple Asked to Review Protections Against Crypto App Fraud

Michael Bodley

<div id="highlights-block_61f99ef2ea65f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The company’s cloud services department is looking at how to integrate blockchain technology</li>
 <li>YouTube and Google Maps could employ Web3 elements, Alphabet’s CEO said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, is looking at how to build blockchain technologies into its blockbuster services, executives said on a Tuesday earnings call.



Responding to an analyst question on how the company views Web3, CEO Sundar Pichai said there are several “areas of interest” for Alphabet: augmented reality, for one, as well as looking at how blockchain technology can be used to power computing and services layers for the likes of YouTube and Google Maps.



The company is “definitely looking at blockchain,” Pichai said, calling it “an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications.”



Alphabet’s cloud team — an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/google-creates-blockchain-unit-hires-new-founding-leader/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emerging</a> part of its business that competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft — is looking at how to “support customer needs” via blockchain-based <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/google-cloud-hiring-blockchain-specialists-in-bid-to-drive-decentralization-efforts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">platforms</a>, according to Pichai. That seemingly could be applied in employing blockchain tech to organize customer service requests. 



He did not provide further specifics.&nbsp;



“Anytime there’s innovation, I find it exciting, and I think it is something we want to support the best we can,” Pichai said. “The web has always evolved, and it’s going to continue to evolve, and as Google, we have benefited tremendously from open-source technologies, so we do plan to contribute there.



The company’s <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2021Q4_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf?cache=d72fc76" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earnings</a> exceeded analyst expectations, with fourth-quarter revenue of $75.33 billion, an increase of 32% from the same period a year prior. Profits rose by one-third. 



“Technology will continue to evolve and innovate, and we want to be pro-innovation and approach it that way,” Pichai said.





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Alphabet CEO Says Company ‘Definitely’ Looking at Blockchain

<div id="highlights-block_61f34342f4b25" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Google&#8217;s cloud division has formed a new business unit that will seek to support its new and existing customers developing on the blockchain</li>
 <li>The Digital Asset Team will provide dedicated node hosting for developers through to on-chain governance </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>





Google&#8217;s cloud computing division is hunting down blockchain experts as part of a new business unit aimed at supporting the tech giant&#8217;s existing customers.



The unit, known as the Digital Assets Team, will focus on the retail and healthcare sectors as Google attempts to expand its offerings beyond advertising.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“We’re seeing [interest in the blockchain space] across every industry vertical we interact with — from financial services and capital markets to retail, sports and gaming,” Richard Widmann, Google Cloud&#8217;s head of strategy for digital assets, told Blockworks.</blockquote>



”Digital asset and blockchains technology is already having a profound impact on our customers and their users across nearly every major vertical, and perhaps most prominently in the financial services space,&#8221; he said. 



Decentralization is a major component of the crypto-industry. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, has sprung up in recent years based on the philosophy of cutting out the middleman, including banks and lenders, to transact peer-to-peer via the use of smart contracts. Google is hoping to capitalize on the movement as finance continues to evolve.



”We see the evolution of blockchain technology and decentralized networks today as analogous to the rise of open source and the internet 10-15 years ago,” Widmann said.



The new unit will support customers seeking to build, transact, store value and deploy new products via blockchain-based platforms, said Yolande Piazza, vice president of financial services at Google Cloud in a <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/financial-services/google-cloud-launches-dedicated-digital-asset-team" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> on Thursday.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;This new team will enable our customers to accelerate their efforts in this emerging space and help underpin the blockchain ecosystems of tomorrow,&#8221; said Piazza.</blockquote>



Specifically, Google Cloud’s Digital Assets Team will provide dedicated node hosting for developers, take part in node validation and on-chain governance and support on-chain governance via participation from Google Cloud executives and senior engineers, per the post.



The team will also help drive co-development and integrations into Google&#8217;s partner ecosystem as well as advancing go-to-market initiatives with its ecosystem partners in the hope that Google Cloud becomes &#8220;the connective tissue between traditional enterprise and blockchain technologies.&#8221;



Several large blockchain and crypto companies utilize Google&#8217;s Cloud Platform including <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/public-datasets/working-with-hedera-hashgraph-to-support-the-next-generation-of-distributed-ledger-technology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hedera</a>, <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/data-analytics/how-theta-labs-reached-the-outer-limits-of-video-streaming" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Theta Labs</a>, and <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/startups/scaling-blockchain-and-nfts-with-google-cloud">Dapper Labs</a> which recently signed on in a bid to leverage the tech giant&#8217;s &#8220;performance, reliability and security.&#8221;



This story was updated on Jan. 28, 2022, at 2:25 pm ET to include commentary from Google.



Additional reporting by Casey Wagner



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Google Cloud Hiring Blockchain Specialists in Bid to ‘Drive Decentralization’ Efforts

<div id="highlights-block_61e8aa3e9e2c2" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Google is forming a new blockchain unit dedicated to the tech and other &#8220;next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies&#8221;</li>
 <li>As part of its push, the tech giant has appointed an experienced executive as &#8220;founding leader&#8221; of the newly formed unit</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Following years of tiptoeing around directly involving itself in blockchain projects, tech giant Google is finally looking to get its feet wet.



The Alphabet subsidiary has appointed a new executive to lead a unit dedicated to “blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/google-forms-blockchain-group-under-newly-appointed-executive?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=bd&amp;cmpId=google" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a> Wednesday.



Shivakumar Venkataraman, Alphabet&#8217;s engineering vice president will now head the unit as the founding leader of Labs, an incubator created by Google to test new projects dedicated to virtual and augmented reality.



Venkataraman, who has worked at Google for more than 18 years, brings more than 25 years to the table as a software engineer with companies like IBM as well as over 10 years in paid advertising for the tech giant, according to his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivakumar-venkataraman-4a03841/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn page</a>.



Google&#8217;s push coincides with the hiring of former PayPal veteran Arnold Goldberg who will head Google&#8217;s payments division as part of a broader strategy to link up with a larger array of financial services including cryptocurrencies, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/google-hires-paypal-vet-to-reset-strategy-after-banking-retreat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg first reported</a> Wednesday.



The moves on Google&#8217;s part come after years of dancing around direct investment into the nascent blockchain tech. The tech giant now appears to want to catch up with Facebook&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/zuckerberg-says-facebooks-new-name-will-be-meta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endeavors</a> into the metaverse as well as Twitter&#8217;s investment into crypto infrastructure.



Blockworks attempted to contact Google but did not receive a reply by press time.



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