Facebook and Google both took another step into the world of blockchain recently by closing deals with two startups in the field, news that didn’t make the headlines but still shows that blockchain development is ongoing with these tech titans.
Facebook Hires Chainspace Team
Facebook has hired the team behind Chainspace, a blockchain startup founded by researchers within University College London, which is building a “distributed ledger platform for high-integrity and transparent processing of transactions within a decentralized system.” The Chainspace team will now join Facebook’s blockchain working group, with their knowledge and expertise being of more value to Facebook than the technology Chainspace was creating, which will now no longer be developed.
Facebook’s aggressive recruitment of blockchain academics and technicians is thought to be leading them towards a stablecoin, which will be used initially within the WhatsApp environment but will almost certainly be rolled out into the Facebook environment should it prove successful.
Google Gets TYMLEZ On Board
Google meanwhile has partnered with TYMLEZ Group (‘timeless’, get it?), an organization that develops software and services to help companies integrate blockchain technologies into their existing IT environments. The partnership is part of the Google Cloud Technology Partner Program, and will allow TYMLEZ to develop their offerings with help from Google developers, while eventually offering their service through the Google Cloud Platform Marketplace.
This partnership will allow TYMLEZ to create a world-class product, while at the same time it allows Google to shape the platform to something they might use themselves for a fraction of the cost. TYMLEZ recently announced a link-up prior to the Google deal with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SUSE, which is illustrative of their ambition and the quality of their product already.
Development Continues
These two deals reinforce the esteem in which two of the biggest tech companies in the world hold blockchain technology, and their under-the-radar development mirrors much of what is going on in the public blockchain environment. Hopefully, these giants will soon start making headlines with their use of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which should start the ball rolling on crypto’s aim to become the alternative currency of the future.
