By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 16th, 2024
Uber’s comment on considering crypto payments came after electric vehicle company Tesla announced its Bitcoin investment.
The CEO of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) Dara Khosrowshahi said that the company would accept crypto payments if there’s a need for it. That is, Uber clients may begin to pay for services with Bitcoin and altcoins.
Khosrowshahi disclosed Uber’s opinion on crypto payments during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on the 11th of February. Noting the company’s stand on accepting crypto as a form of payment, the CEO said:
“Just like we accept all kinds of local currency, we are going to look at cryptocurrency and or Bitcoin in terms of currency to transact. That’s good for business, that good for riders and our eaters… and if there’s a benefit there, if there’s a need there, we would do it.”
Although Uber is considering accepting crypto payments, the CEO added that the company is not adding Bitcoin to its corporate balance sheet. Speaking on Uber investing in Bitcoin as part of its treasury, Khosrowshahi said:
“It was a conversation that happened that has been quickly dismissed. We’re going to keep our cash safe. We’re not in the speculation business.”
Despite Khosrowshahi saying Uber will allow crypto payments “if there’s a need for it,” the company’s stock did not react to the announcement. At the time of writing, n the pre-market, Uber stock was trading at $60.56, with a 0.25% loss over its previous close of $60.71. Apart from the current trading loss, Uber has been surging all year. In the last one year, the company’s stock has increased by 51.43% and advanced further by over 19% in its year-to-date record. Also, UBER has climbed 30.84% in the last three months. MarketWatch data added that the tech company spiked almost 7% over the past month. In the last five days, Uber has grown by 4.94%.
Uber Considering Crypto Payments as Bitcoin Increasing Adoption
Uber’s comment on considering crypto payments came after electric vehicle company Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced its Bitcoin investment. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla said it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Shortly after the announcement, Bitcoin surged 13% to reach a new high of around $44,000.
Since then, speculations have been arising on what company would be next to invest in Bitcoin.
On the 10th of February, Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) chief financial officer (CFO) Ned Segal revealed that the social media network is considering a decision to include Bitcoin to its balance sheet as part of its treasury. In a separate interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Segal said Twitter had done a lot of “upfront thinking” about the BTC inclusion.
The world is significantly adopting Bitcoin. Over the past year, the top crypto asset has gained a lot of attention with its increasing number of institutional and individual investors.
Recently, the governor of Kenya’s central bank, Patrick Njoroge, proposed the use of Bitcoin to fight the depreciating Shilling.