Uber Will Eventually Accept Crypto as Payment, Says CEO

The chief executive of rideshare company Uber has said the firm ‘absolutely’ will accept cryptocurrencies in the future as they become more ‘environmentally friendly’ and less expensive. Notably, Uber co-founder Oscar Salazar forayed into the crypto industry by founding Voyager, a crypto exchange in 2018. In an interview with Bloomberg, Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that his company will ‘eventually’ accept cryptocurrencies ‘at some point’ in the future but not for now because the ‘exchange mechanism is expensive,’ adding it’s also ‘not great for the environment.’ “Is Uber going to accept crypto in the future? Absolutely. At some point. This isn’t the right point, but we will.” This isn’t the first time Khosrowshahi has come out in favor of cryptocurrencies. Earlier last year, he said that the popular ride-sharing app was ‘going to look at cryptocurrency and or Bitcoin in terms of currency to transact.’ Khosrowshahi has also been known as an early Bitcoin advocate. During his 12-year tenure with Expedia, a travel-bookings platform, he turned the platform into one of the first mainstream merchants to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2014. “I think right now what we see with bitcoin and some of the other [cryptocurrencies] is that they are quite valuable as a store of value. As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us lean into crypto a l...