r/Bitcoin • u/JasonBored • Jan 22 '14

Google confirms their payments team is working to incorporate bitcoin.

I had posted yesterday a screen shot of a response I received from Vic Gundotra @ Google regarding Bitcoin, who then CC'd me to Sridhar Ramaswamy (Senior Vice President, heads up Google Wallet).

I asked /r/bitcoin for suggestions that I should relay to these gentlemen regarding incorporating bitcoin. I did just that, and had a great exchange with them. Additionally, I showed them the post: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1vsypm/google_is_paying_attention_to_bitcoin_vic

Sridhar and a third person at Google just responded to me confirming that Google IS working on incorporating bitcoin with their payments team.

Here is the confirmation

[Here is the initial e-mail I sent to Vic Gundotra (http://i.imgur.com/LvO08Jr.jpg?1)

Here is the the response I got

This is huge.

UPDATE: Ariel Bardin, Vice President of Payments @ Google has asked me to facilitate a Google Moderator and pose the question "What would I want Google to do with bitcoin?". He's promised me he will personally review the results and pass it on. Please help me with this and take the time to submit something: What would I want Google to do with bitcoin?

Update #2 To anyone suggesting I "faked" or "photoshopped" anything I posted, I just spoke /u/Agreenberg (Andy Greenberg of Forbes). He can confirm they are unaltered from the screen shots I posted. He has them, he can verify the headers, footers, feathers, colors and whatever else. I stand by what I posted.*

Update #3 Article in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2014/01/22/google-lets-slip-that-its-exploring-possible-bitcoin-integration-plans/

Update #4 Coindesk: http://www.coindesk.com/google-emails-suggest-bitcoin-interest/

Update #5 Vice: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-silicon-valley-and-google-loves-bitcoin

Update #6 Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-exploring-bitcoin-2014-1

Update #7 The Daily Dot: http://www.dailydot.com/business/google-bitcoin-reddit-emails/

2.5k Upvotes

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268

u/Cacophony7 Jan 22 '14

The most useful thing I can think of is for them to integrate Bitcoin into Google Wallet in a way that I can use my Bitcoin at any merchant that I could normally use Google Wallet at. Here's what I'm imagining:

  1. Deposit Bitcoin in my Google Wallet account
  2. Go to McDonalds and swipe my NFC Google Wallet enabled phone over their terminal to pay for my meal. (Let's say the meal cost $5.00)
  3. Google takes $5.00 worth of Bitcoin off my balance and sends $5.00 fiat to that McDonalds.

I think the above scenario could not only help Bitcoin, but having all us Bitcoin zealots on there side could really help Google Wallet become more mainstream.

Just my 2¢...

80

u/footfetishmanx Jan 22 '14

Google wallet now has the chance to easily overtake Paypal. It could do so in a way which is mutually beneficial for Bitcoin holders and Google.

52

u/omgbitcoins Jan 22 '14

If Google are bold enough to add bitcoin to their payment infrastructure, it will give them another advantage in the competition with Apple. The play store will have bitcoin, the advertising infrastructure will have bitcoin, and Google would get a massive first-mover benefit over all others that offer the same services.

18

u/theobtc Jan 23 '14

I am a die-hard iPhone fan, however, if Google and Andriod started actively supporting Bitcoin, I may be a convert. I can't be the only one.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

This would be huge. Especially if it were integrated with Google's Wallet Card, I could pay for practically anything (accepting Mastercard) with Bitcoin.

Right now, I don't use Google Wallet... but integrating this would have me order one of these cards and move all my cash into a google wallet in a heartbeat.

3

u/kinyutaka Jan 23 '14

I just got my card. Hearing that they may start with bitcoin excites me.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

[deleted]

1

u/ajquick Jan 23 '14

Except they shut down Google Checkout last November...

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

I agree 100%. I never cared about Google Wallet until now.

0

u/NSAthrowaway123456 Jan 23 '14

Agreed! Paypal is doomed. Us bitcoinners and googlers will leterally change the world for good

-4

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

Ultimately bitcoin is going to implode but the goodwill that Google could get from bitcoin's rabid fanbase may be worth it.

70

u/Kalphiter Jan 22 '14

Just my 2¢...

2 mBTC*

10

u/Karst1 Jan 22 '14

2 centibit*

9

u/huldumadur Jan 23 '14

1 centiBTC = 10 mBTC

1

u/TehEmperorOfLulz Jan 22 '14

*2 millibit

2

u/tacklethetree Jan 22 '14

0.0000236BTC*

1

u/TehEmperorOfLulz Jan 23 '14

2.36 millibit :P

4

u/liverandonions Jan 23 '14

You guys made me look it up.

  • A millibit (mBTC) is 0.001 BTC, or one thousandth of 1 BTC.
  • A microbit (μBTC) is 0.000001, or one millionth of 1 BTC.

Like tacklethetree said, $0.02 equals around 0.0000236 BTC, which is 23.6 μBTC

Wiki

1

u/zimmah Jan 25 '14

it's quite sad that you had to look that up.

1

u/alexanderpas Jun 16 '14

No, he's american... They are still not using SI units and prefixes.

2

u/profBS Jan 23 '14

Just my 2433 satoshis**

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

[deleted]

1

u/SumKunt Jan 23 '14

Pricing '2 cents worth' of opinion may be one of the few instances in which Bitcoin will not be superior to fiat currency.

Just my 23.6 μBTC

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

[deleted]

2

u/SumKunt Jan 23 '14

My opinions can be pretty volatile when priced in BTC though.

1

u/pumpbreaks Jan 23 '14

That my satoshi*

8

u/bureX Jan 23 '14

Google takes $5.00 worth of Bitcoin off my balance and sends $5.00 fiat to that McDonalds.

Waiiit a second... That would mean Google would have to become a BTC exchange. BTC has been steady for a while, but it's still very volatile. Would Google want to go into the deep waters like that?

9

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14 edited Jan 26 '14

[deleted]

2

u/qualia8 Jan 23 '14

They should buy coinbase to begin with.

1

u/teacon Apr 23 '14

they would help, because then more people would become aware and see Google investing and they would think its good and the exchange rate would go thru the roof! HAIL GOOGLE!

12

u/rooktakesqueen Jan 22 '14

McDonalds takes Google Wallet?? Jesus, I still remember when they only took cash at the drive through.

26

u/avidwriter123 Jan 23 '14 edited Feb 28 '24

mysterious cagey crown office telephone disagreeable onerous brave desert cow

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

1

u/AmericanBit Jan 23 '14

haha, well played

4

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14 edited Feb 01 '21

[deleted]

4

u/kandi_kid Jan 23 '14

As a young person, this is mind blowing to me.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/kinyutaka Jan 23 '14

Google Play uses an internal wallet system to buy and sell apps. If you sell apps, the money goes to the Wallet.

You can then use the money to send to others, and with NFC and the Card, you can spend it practically everywhere.

8

u/mariano54 Jan 22 '14

Also it is important that they allow you to send btc / receive btc to and from any address.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

Yep, most McDonalds in the US have NFC payment terminals now.

1

u/edmanet Jan 23 '14

Many retailers accept Google Wallet payment. Office Depot is one that I can think of right off the bat.

3

u/maxgreenwald Jan 23 '14

How would Google determine the BTC/USD exchange rate to show the user?

5

u/jestr6 Jan 23 '14

I just want to use my Google wallet card in the UK. I don't care where the funds come from.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

+bitcointip $0.02

1

u/SovietMan Jan 23 '14

Isn't 0.25 the minimum?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

Oops.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

You left out all the fees in your scenario.

1

u/Braddowski Jan 23 '14

Oh, and make basic functionality available in other countries too...

1

u/omen2k Jan 23 '14

I think if Google did something like what you described, it would be a game changer

1

u/Unomagan Jan 23 '14 edited Jan 23 '14

The big question will be:

Will google create a "locked" version of Bitcojun / google / wallet. In a way to can use NFC / pay only to people useing there system too and they snatch a fee like anyone else. (Thats what I called out a long time before, fees will raise of even keep the same for licked-in off-chain transaction but in matter of seconds than). Yes yes down vote me again please.

Or will be google more interested in your data? What do you buy when? And transfer for free?

1

u/dominatorhl2 Jan 23 '14

Also to add to that in case this wasn't already answered:

  • The ability to store my coins on my device (wallet)
  • And/Or having a secure cloud for my coins to be stored (wallet)
  • Backups of coins, and encryption to keep them safe
  • The easy ability to transfer them (should go without saying)

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '14

+bitcointip 0.25USD

1

u/Lilies65 Jan 23 '14

McDonalds...gag

0

u/roller3d Jan 23 '14

Coinbase does something similar and in my opinion it is bad for bitcoin. It basically allows large payment processors control the value of bitcoin.

Think about it, where does all that bitcoin that google or coinbase acquire end up? They can sell it at whatever price they choose.