Tech Giants Embrace Web3 Technology

On October 11th, Google announced its partnership with Coinbase that will allow some customers to pay for cloud services with cryptocurrencies early in 2023. Coinbase stated it would also draw on Google cloud infrastructure. According to CNBC, in addition to current collaboration, Google plans to explore using Coinbase Prime, a custodial service for storing and trading cryptocurrencies.

Amit Zavery, vice president, general manager, and head of the platform at Google Cloud, said that at the beginning, cryptocurrency payments will be accepted only from a select group of clients, who are already active in Web3 via the Coinbase Commerce integration.

Over time, Google will allow more customers to make payments with cryptocurrency, Zavery said. Coinbase Commerce supports 10 currencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.

This development comes after another recent news about Google Cloud Services and Near Protocol partnership. The announcement from the Near Foundation revealed that Google Cloud will offer "technical support" to Near grant recipients.

Meta Platforms has partnered with Microsoft to bring a range of Microsoft Office 365 products into Meta's virtual reality (VR) platform. This collaboration is aimed to entice companies into working in virtual environments.

During Meta's Connect 2022 keynote on Oct. 11, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said its Teams video calling app would integrate with Meta's "Quest" and newly unveiled "Quest Pro" VR headset. It will allow people to gather in a virtual space akin to a boardroom.

Familiar Microsoft productivity applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and SharePoint will also be made available within Meta's VR.

Decentralized exchange Uniswap Labs has raised $165 million in a Series B funding round that had participation from some of blockchain's biggest venture firms, putting the company on track to expand into other crypto-focused domains.

The funding round was led by Polychain Capital. Among other investors there were Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Variant and SV Angel.

The financial service provider Mastercard launched a new crypto service, Crypto Secure, which is aimed to help banks find and prevent fraud on crypto merchant platforms.

Crypto Secure uses artificial intelligence, blockchain data, and public records of crypto transactions to determine crime-related risks of crypto exchanges within the Mastercard network.

Multinational fast food chain McDonald's started accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in the 63,000-populated city of Lugano in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, which is becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption in Western Europe.

Bitcoin Magazine uploaded a video of ordering food at McDonald's digital kiosk and then paying for it with an app on Twitter. Interestingly, the Tether logo could also be spotted next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit cash machine.

Market Cap is $68,421,366,68

USDT is a stablecoin that mirrors the price of the U.S. dollar, issued by a Hong Kong-based company Tether. The token's peg to the USD is achieved via maintaining a sum of commercial paper, fiduciary deposits, cash, reserve repo notes, and treasury bills in reserves that is equal in USD value to the number of USDT in circulation.

USDT is currently the 3rd most influential cryptocurrency in the world, just behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its current market cap is around $68.5 billion.