coinculture.com
Uber will likely accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method in the not-too-distant future, said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Pay for your Uber with crypto
What seemed to be a preposterous idea just a few years ago could soon be a reality: hailing Uber rides and paying for them using your crypto holdings. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said as much in a new Bloomberg interview when Emily Chang asked him whether the company was considering crypto payments:
“It definitely could [happen]. We’re having conversations all the time.”
Khosrowshahi said that Bitcoin and other currencies were already quite valuable as a store of value but not as fitting as a means of payment. He cited environmental concerns for the company’s hesitancy. Cheaper and greener cryptocurrency transactions could push Uber over the edge though:
“As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see [Uber] lean into crypto a little bit more. We’re absolutely watching it. Is Uber going to accept cryptocurrency in the future? Absolutely, at some point.”
That marks a remarkable turnaround from the company’s position just one year ago when Khosrowshahi rebuked any plans to follow companies like Tesla and start accepting Bitcoin on their balance sheet. However, even then, the CEO left a door open for crypto payments on Uber and Uber Eats.
Uber following the trend
Khosrowshahi, who previously headed travel booking site Expedia from 2005 to 2017, may just be following the broader trend here: a Visa survey indicated that 25% of businesses are willing to accept crypto as payment. Walmart seems primed to move into NFTs and Apple said the company was looking at crypto support for Apple Pay too.
Like dominoes, big tech and non-tech companies are hopping onto the crypto train, as the risk of missing out starts to exceed the cost of possibly being wrong by accepting crypto. Of course, crypto bulls have been saying this for years but only now are we seeing a massive push into the mainstream.
Khosrowshahi, who implemented crypto payments at Expedia back in 2014, will know the trade-off all too well: handling the public’s expectations to finally accept it but staying wary of possible environmental concerns that could damage the company’s reputation.
Which company may be next?
At this point, it may be easier to ask which company will dare to defy the crypto trend. Tech companies are almost compelled to ride the trend, especially if Bitcoin mining becomes greener in the future.
Traditional businesses like manufacturing may be a bit more hesitant, but you would hardly bet against it. Even a company like Starbucks has little to lose from accepting crypto as a mode of payment.
However, one barrier could be the regulation of crypto in the United States, with the Biden administration preparing an executive order on cryptocurrencies in the near future. If crypto-friendly regulation were to pass, we could see a tsunami of adoption by big companies very soon.