Key Insights:
Google removed live charts for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
There have been no changes for other cryptos like Dogecoin and XRP.
The changes will likely be temporary due to an ongoing policy update called AI Organized Search Results.
The issue is unlikely to be connected with US elections or any major shift in Google's policy towards crypto markets.
Google has removed Bitcoin and Ethereum crypto price tracker widgets from its search results. Earlier, whenever someone searched for any cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin's price, a chart appeared at the top of the screen that displayed the latest price, similar to the screen below.
Dogecoin Price Charts on Google
CoinMarketCap
At present, it seems that Google has eliminated Bitcoin and Ethereum's price charts in favor of Rich Snippets which take relevant data from top websites and show it as a summary at the top of search results. However, price charts for Dogecoin and other cryptos appear on search results without any change.
Though it seems far-fetched, if this change is intentional, it marks a huge shift in Google's policies towards crypto projects. Other Google arms, like Google Ads and Play Store, have long imposed severe restrictions on promoting crypto-related entities and subjected them to local laws as well as Google's internal policies.
Some crypto users also have tried to connect this to the upcoming US elections. The current administration has allegedly an anti-crypto stance and Google has been one of the corporates which have backed Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Though it seems like a glitch, but this disappearance of crypto price widgets seems to be a shift in policy or a shift in data. Google recently came out with the AI-organized search results update on 3 October 2024.
The update sought to organize search results based on how much relevant was a website to the searcher. The relevance was to be decided with AI technology.
If this is a change in policy, it marks a major shift in the attitude of big tech like Google. Larger tech companies like them have always been skeptical about supporting crypto initiatives.
However, there has been no conclusive evidence that points towards such a shift. But, there has been circumstantial evidence that shows this might have been due to AI organized search results. The presence of other crypto widgets on the search results indicate that this might not be a policy shift.
The 2024 US Presidential elections are just a couple of weeks ahead and Google has already supported the currently ruling Democratic Party's candidate Kamala Harris through donations.
However, this allegation too seems to be inconclusive. The reason being Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP have been generally accepted as "not securities" within the government, so there is very less chance that US government might have issues this directive.
Everyday, most of the searches on "Bitcoin" and "Ethereum" are mostly looking for generic data and not for price charts.
Further, most who look for price, anyways visit price index websites like CoinMarketCap or Coingecko.
Those charts consume a lot of resources since they are to be displayed for the millions of instances anyone searches for Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Those charts consume a lot of resources because the data has to be updated every few seconds to help them stay reliable. Now, imagine doing that several million times a day for millions of searchers.
Our experience says that this might be a part of a re-arrangement where Google might only display those charts.
Whatever, be the case, it is likely to be clear in the next few days as Google surely would not like to irk millions of its searchers.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.