According to a tweet from the Vitalik Buterin, founder of the world’s second largest cryptocurrency Ethereum, Google has approached him to see if he wants to help with a cryptocurrency/blockchain project.
Buterin Considering Move to Google?
In a now deleted tweet, Vitalik Buterin, the Russian-born programmer and a sort of cryptocurrency tastemaker, shared a screenshot of an email from Elizabeth Garcia, a Google recruiter, appearing to offer him a job. The email read:
“Hi Vitalik, I hope you are doing well and enjoying the weekend! […] Google make sense for you now or in the near future […].”
Originally, Buterin shared the email from Garcia along with a poll asking: “Should I drop Ethereum and work for Google?”
Before it was taken down, almost 60% of the 2,000 people polled on Twitter responded that Buterin should not abandon Ethereum. Before long, Buterin deleted the poll and tweeted: “Too bad you can’t quote tweet someone and add a poll.”
The tweet, which was posted a few days ago, has not yet been further verified or discussed by Google or Buterin — neither responded immediately to a request for comment from the Independent.
Fortunately for the cryptosphere, it’s likely the situation is a sort of joke. Despite this, it was being reported that Buterin was seriously considering leaving Ethereum for Google — which, if it were true, would likely have a huge impact on Ether’s price.
Also worth remembering is that Ethereum is in a very interesting position right now with its implementation of Casper, the proof-of-stake protocol, and sharding. It’s unlikely Buterin would jump ship amidst these developments.
Alphabet Looking to Blockchain Solutions
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, did reveal earlier this year that it is very interested in blockchain, the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies, and was a leading corporate investor in the technology in 2017. More specifically, the tech giant has been looking into using a blockchain-based distributed digital ledger that third parties can use to verify transactions.
Further, Alphabet’s venture capital arm has invested in wallet service Blockchain Luxembourg, financial transactions network Ripple, cryptocurrency asset management platform LedgerX, and international payments provider Veem.
As of now, the company is keeping pretty quiet about the specifics of its blockchain research, only disclosing that it hopes to use the technology in its cloud platform.
“Like many new technologies, we have individuals in various teams exploring potential use of blockchain, but it’s too early for us to speculate about any possible uses or plans,” a spokesperson told Business Insider in March.”