The chief executive officer for ridesharing and food delivery giant Uber says the company is considering accepting cryptocurrency for payments.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the company is looking into accepting bitcoin and crypto-assets as a form of payment.
Despite being open to the idea of crypto for payments, the CEO “quickly dismissed” the notion of purchasing bitcoin with corporate cash, such as Tesla’s decision to invest $1.5 billion into BTC.
"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's good for our riders and our eaters," says @dkhos. "We are just not going to do it as part of a promotion." pic.twitter.com/2OSamy3yBV
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 11, 2021
Khosrowshahi told the host, “It’s a conversation that’s happened that has been quickly dismissed. We’re going to keep our cash safe. We’re not in the speculation business. The upside in our company is in the business that we’ve built, not the investments that we invest in.”
Khosrowshahi, who took over as Uber’s CEO in 2017, left the door open for accepting crypto as a form of payment. He said the company would do what’s best for “our riders and our eaters,” and would pursue bitcoin if the need and desire were reflected in the customer base, rather than as a promotion.
According to CNBC, Uber had a reported $5.65 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31 of last year, alongside $1.18 billion in short-term investments.
