Uber CEO says rideshare company will accept crypto ‘at some point,’ cites transaction costs and environmental concerns

The chief executive of rideshare company Uber has said the firm “absolutely” will accept crypto in the future, but prefaced those remarks by saying such a move would only happen under particular conditions. 

The remarks came as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke to Bloomberg in an interview Friday. When asked if Uber might accept crypto “someday,” Khosrowshahi remarked:

“It definitely could. We’re having conversations all the time. I think right now, what we see with bitcoin and some of the other cryptos, they are quite valuable as a store of value. The exchange mechanism is expensive, it’s not great for the environment. As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us lean into crypto a little bit more. So we’re absolutely watching it. And if you say, is Uber going to accept crypto in the future? Absolutely. At some point. This isn’t the right point, but we will.”

Friday’s interview wasn’t the first time that Khosrowshahi has been asked about crypto payments, and in the past, he has couched Uber’s openness to the idea with qualifications.

Last February, he told CNBC that “if there’s a benefit there, if there’s a need there, we’ll do it. We’re just not going to do it as part of a promotion.”