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Google Acknowledges Circle’s Bitcoin Application at 2015 I/O Awards

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:44 PM
P. H. Madore
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:44 PM

circle-bitcoinBoston-based Bitcoin wallet and provider Circle received an honorable mention at Google I/O. The company’s Android wallet application was, in fact, the only finance app to make the “best in class” showcase, and the first-ever Bitcoin-related application to receive such an accolade.

For perspective, Circle’s wallet was listed alongside such visible brands as Evernote, Tumblr, the New York Times, and BuzzFeed. In essence, Google has encouraged Android users to try out a Bitcoin wallet, and there is only one way for that to be useful to those who do – to buy some Bitcoin.

Circle’s Bitcoin wallet has been the subject of more than one promotion by the company. They regularly offer limited-time incentives for new users to sign up for a Circle account and install the application. This wider user-base has surely contributed to the company having a chance to improve the software through bug reports, whereas other Bitcoin apps have recently had serious problems .

Ease of Use is Key

The app allows the user to deposit via bank account with no fees as well as by taking a picture of their credit or debit card. According to Google co-founder Larry Page, “If you have a product that’s gaining a lot of usage, then it’s a probably a good idea.” The the Circle app has about half the installs of the Coinbase  app on the Android platform, the Circle app is, according to Google, the best in its class. It seems that Coinbase could have a serious competitor operating about four hours away, in a whole different jurisdiction.

The Circle app allows for near-field communication transfers from phone to phone, security features, and, most importantly, “free insurance covering any loss of bitcoin in the unlikely event of a breach of digital or physical data storage at Circle.” This last part is a key concern for most Bitcoin users, who worry about using their bitcoins on a phone under any circumstances. Being able to transact safely via mobile devices is a key booster to Bitcoin usage at physical retailers, and the more apps that can achieve this, the faster we can expect to see Bitcoiners out spending their coins at stores which accept them.

The app is easy to use and set up, as you can see:

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Also read: Goldman Sachs Lead Investor in Bitcoin Exchange Circle’s Latest $50 Million Funding Round

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Will Circle and Coinbase be the Red Sox and Yankees of Bitcoin wallet providers? Will Coinbase and others answer this news with ruthless innovation and improvement of their platforms? Time will tell, but for now, Circle enjoys the throne as the first Bitcoin app to get on Google’s radar  – in a good way, that is.