One year ago, a redditor posted that if the iPhone added the Bitcoin “B” symbol to its keyboard, it would be a sign of the cryptocurrency’s legitimacy and could help further adoption. While Apple has yet to officially take the jump, one of its biggest rivals has and made the symbol available to iPhone users.
Google has just added the infamous Bitcoin “B” symbol to its keyboard, but only for iOS users. It’s not clear why it hasn’t been added to Android keyboards. To access it, make sure you’re using the Google keyboard, not just the default Apple one, and hold down the dollar symbol to see a pop up of several of the world’s major currency symbols. The Bitcoin symbol is located on the far left. But will it encourage adoption?
Probably not. People aren’t going to rush out on the streets and start harassing their local shopkeeper to accept Bitcoin just because there’s a new sign on their phone. But, it is a major endorsement by the web giant that has so far stayed away from cryptocurrencies, although a recent ban on advertising crypto projects was recently lifted suggesting Google might be warming to crypto. A small step, but a positive one.