Machine learning trading data as your friend said will definitely become the future. When it comes to cryptocurencies in companies like google, Apple... that’s just a matter of time when it happens. They also have far more resources available. It is possible they even can create better blockchains than the vast majority of cryptocurrencies out there. Competition is a huge factor for these companies and they will eventually have to start compensate people for their informations. Crypto and blockchain technology is in its first stage only. It’s inevitable when it becomes one of the every day’s payment options and it’s slowly happening already. There are many companies accepting bitcoin as a sort of payment.