Google recently invited Cardano and IOHK executives to their London offices to discuss cryptocurrencies. Charles Hoskinson, former CEO of Ethereum and the Founder of Cardano gave a brief introduction at the meeting before the floor was
Why Cardano?
Look Out Bitcoin, Here Come Cardano and Stellar
Cardano is home to the Ada cryptocurrency and is an open source, decentralized public blockchain and cryptocurrency project. IOHK is the company in charge of the coding aspect of Cardano platform.
Cardano believes one of its significant innovations is that it will balance the needs of users with those of regulators – combining privacy with regulation. The platform is being constructed in layers, so it has the flexibility to be easily maintained and allow for upgrades. The technology is secure, flexible and scalable for use by many millions of users.
Asked and answered
Are Cardano and Google Going Into A Crypto Partnership?
After Charles Hoskinson gave his introduction, the meeting continued with a question and answer session. Google teams from all over the world had the opportunity to ask questions through conference calls
Plan to outdo Ethereum
Some of the queries concerned the plan to outdo Ethereum. Problems facing Ethereum users include security, POS consensus mechanism, scalability. Hoskinson emphasized Cardano’s technological superiority to Ethereum. It will be able to provide solutions to all these problems with its Ourborous algorithm.
Ethereum, as an early mover, won’t easily be toppled from its dominant position. However, Cardano has had some positive headlines lately and recently got listed on Thai exchange Bitkub, Korean Bithumb and CoinRoom.
Next generation protocols
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Smart contracts are the digital agreements that will underpin future commerce and business. With the development of its smart contract platform, Cardano intends to deliver more advanced features than any protocol previously developed. With its team of global experts in engineering and research, it is applying the kind of scientific rigor applied in mission-critical systems, like banking and aerospace, to the field of cryptocurrencies.
Google bans all cryptocurrency online ads
In June 2018 Google banned all online ads promoting cryptocurrencies and related content. This followed a similar move by Facebook. Ads related to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice were all impacted by the ban.
Scammers defraud customers
As cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular, scammers have been using ads to promote shady deals and defraud customers.
Industry experts react unfavorably
Many industry experts believed that although the decision was made to protect consumers, Google was unfairly targeting an emerging industry. They believed a more targeted ban would have been preferable so that legitimate cryptocurrency businesses providing valuable services to users were not caught in the crossfire.
Is a partnership in the offing?
Since the meeting, industry watchers have been speculating about a partnership between Google and Cardano and what it would mean.
Ask me Anything Session
Surprise AMA with Charles Hoskinson
Charles Hoskinson held a surprise Reddit Ask me Anything [AMA] session on 7th July 2018 and addressed the speculation.
He clarified the reasons for the meeting at Google’s London office, saying that Google said they would like to ask some questions about the technology behind the cryptocurrency and some of the use cases.
He made it clear that Google did not need to partner with anybody to explore the space and that they were likely to go ahead and do their own thing.
He said that Google was known for being a patron of open-source technology and many of its employees love the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. He pointed out that Mike Hearn, a famous Googler, was a core developer of Bitcoin.
Will Google jump into crypto?
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Google has recently shown more of an interest in cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology. A Google spokesperson told Business Insider in March of this year that individuals in various teams were exploring the potential of using blockchain. He also indicated, however, that it was too early to speculate about any plans or uses.
Google was asking Cardano questions about blockchain and cryptocurrencies in general. When people speculate about Google introducing its cryptocurrency, the question always arises as to why a centralized company like Google would want to create a decentralized currency?
The underlying concept of blockchain is to decentralize power, put it in the hands of users and uphold anonymity. None of this motivates corporations interested in profit. We can only speculate about the possibilities for the future– imagine if Google added a ‘crypto rewards’ functionality within its search engine.
Google wouldn’t want to run the risk of falling foul of the law or subject itself to expensive lawsuits, government crackdowns, and public backlashes. Until such stage as the regulatory environment becomes more transparent, we probably won’t see Google getting heavily involved in cryptocurrency – but this is just speculation too, and we will just have to wait and see what the future holds.
great article!