Are Google, Apple Card and Facebook’s Libra to defeat Bitcoin?

During the coronavirus crisis Bitcoin is gaining traction, while Google, Apple and Facebook are losing momentum. Bitcoin’s strength breeds competition that may result in the tech giants’ intention to kill BTC for own survival. Because of the pandemic, their major sources of revenue – advertising business in cases of Google and Facebook and iPhone sales in Apple’s case – are at low ebb, and it is unlikely whether they will recover after the crisis. Therefore, Google, Apple, and Facebook need to find new revenue streams.

Google was reported to be working on its new smart debit card. Its payment system will allow users to make purchases through card, online, or mobile handsets. Besides, the card will integrate with the Google Pay app, enabling users to keep track of their expenses, balances, and account access. To develop the card, Google has teamed up with Citibank and Stanford Federal Credit Union. The Card will initially come with a Visa-powered chip, but later, Google may add support for other payment processors like Mastercard. According to Google, customers will “benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools.” Dubbed “Cache”, the service is expected to significantly expand Google Pay’s capabilities. The date of the card release is unknown, but the initiative will definitely take place this year.

Last year, Apple launched its own credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. Apple Card differs from other cards by combining excellent rewards with a consumer-friendly app. It offers 3% cashback on purchases at Apple, 2% cashback on all purchases made on the card through Apple Pay, and 1% cashback on other purchases. Apple Card provides transparency, simplicity, and privacy and charges no fees. But if customers fail to pay the full balance by the due date, they can attract the interest of 12.99% to 23.99% based on their creditworthiness.

To compete with Bitcoin, Facebook has been long working on its Libra currency. For some time, there has been no news about the developing process, and there were reports about Facebook abandoning the project. However, it is not so. Indeed, the Libra Association pulled away from its original vision of a global stablecoin pegged to a basket of national currencies. Instead, the Association plans to develop several stablecoins to represent different fiat currencies. One Libra coin could be pegged to the Euro, another to the U.S. dollar, and so on.