Uber CEO says app will eventually accept crypto as payment

Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive officer, said Uber will accept cryptocurrencies “at some point” in the future.

Uber Technologies Inc. will one day join the likes of Microsoft Corp. by accepting Bitcoin as a payment option on its app.

A screen displays the company logo for Uber Technologies Inc at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York. (REUTERS)

Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive officer, said Uber will accept cryptocurrencies “at some point” in the future. “This isn’t the right point,” he said Friday in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Khosrowshahi cited the cost of exchanges, which can carry high transaction fees, and the environmental impact of digital mining on the energy grid as reasons for why Uber has not yet incorporated the technology.

“We’re having conversations all the time,” Khosrowshahi said. “As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive and becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us leaning into crypto a little bit more.”