Uber Ready to Accept Bitcoin Payments

The world’s largest ride-hailing company, Uber, has confirmed that Uber is ready to accept Bitcoin payments in the future.

Uber is ready to accept bitcoin payments

The company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday that it is actively participating in discussions about cryptocurrencies and will “definitely” start accepting payments in Bitcoin if they deem it appropriate.

“We chat all the time,” he told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang and Guy Johnson. “What we’re seeing right now with bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies is that they’re very valuable as a store of value.”

Dara Khosrowshahi said the company would consider accepting cryptocurrencies as payment, but limited the company’s cash purchases of Bitcoin.

Khosrowshahi told CNBC: “We will think of crypto and bitcoin as transaction currencies that are good for our business and good for our travel and food. So that’s definitely being looked at, and if there’s a benefit, if there’s a need, we’ll do it. We’re not going to do it as part of an ad.”

Uber is concerned about the bitcoin mining problem

However, Khosrowshahi expressed concern about Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, saying that Uber will not accept the cryptocurrency as a payment option until it believes its mining mechanism is more environmentally friendly.

“The mining mechanism is expensive, definitely not good for the environment. As the exchange mechanism becomes cheaper and greener, you will see us leaning more towards crypto.”

According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, although Bitcoin accounts for only 0.1% of total global energy consumption, the Proof of Work (POW) protocol remains one of its biggest hurdles due to its significant amount of energy, the marvel required to mine cryptocurrencies.

Uber has pledged to make its journeys all-electric and zero-emissions by 2040, but combating climate change remains a priority for the company.

Other companies like Tesla have also been reluctant to accept bitcoin payments, and Elon Musk has expressed concern about the high cost and environmental impact of operating cryptocurrencies.

However, Elon hinted in June 2021 that Tesla will start accepting Bitcoin payments in the future if reasonable clean energy usage (~50%) is approved by miners. But the company has yet to accept the payments, even though miners already get 56% of their electricity from sustainable or renewable sources.

However, the CEO of Uber is optimistic that Bitcoin will weather the current challenges, but until then he only considers waiting.

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