Big Tech Moves Reveal Divergent Approaches to Blockchain and Web3

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for big tech. Over recent weeks, Facebook has run into problems after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call revealed its metaverse aspirations had caused a $10 billion hit to the bottom line. It’s hardly surprising given the lukewarm reception to its sanitized, centralized VR work meetings. Shareholders will no doubt be worried by the fact that the firm is squaring up to Microsoft, which has spent years dominating in office applications, including its Teams app, and is now intent on launching its own enterprise-capable metaverse features. However, this approach – to attempt to create a digital metaverse that will somehow upgrade or replace our time spent online is an odd one. Even more so, when you consider the vastly different approach being taken by rivals Google and Amazon. The most recent news from the Google camp is that the firm is hiring a “legion” of blockchain experts to help expand its business in blockchain applications. Google’s idea seems to be to play alongside the players in the established blockchain space, an approach that has been in evidence in various moves over recent years. In 2019, the firm showcased how developers could use Chainlink oracles to bring its BigQuery data into blockchain smart contracts. The move ended up catapulting Chainlink into the top-ranking crypto projects. Last year, the firm joined forces with Dapper Labs, the startup behind the hit NBA Top ...