Uber customers may soon be able to pay for their rides using cryptocurrency, but the wait for the ride-hailing giant to accept cryptocurrencies may be longer than expected.

Uber’s plans about accepting crypto in the near future was revealed by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Khosrowshahi said that company executives were “having conversations all the time” about accepting cryptocurrencies as payment, but explained that Uber was yet to start accepting crypto due to certain obstacles.

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Khosrowshahi firstly pointed out the environmental impact of mining cryptocurrencies, which is a highly energy-intensive activity that consumes vast amounts of electricity. The 52-year-old also explained that the steep cost of exchanges involving digital assets was another barrier preventing Uber from joining on the cryptocurrency bandwagon.

While the Uber CEO said that now “isn’t the right point” for the company to start accepting cryptocurrencies, he added, “As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us lean into crypto a little bit more.”

However, the 52-year-old assured that Uber would certainly start accepting cryptocurrencies in the future: “Is Uber going to accept crypto in the future? Absolutely, at some point,” Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg.

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Uber joining the cryptocurrency bandwagon would be a massive boost to cryptocurrencies, which major companies have been slow or reluctant to accept.

Certain exceptions like Microsoft, which started accepting bitcoin as payment as early as 2014, and Tesla, which started accepting Dogecoin for certain merchandise in 2021, apart, the volatility associated with cryptocurrencies has prevented major companies from accepting digital currencies.

However, the trend has been changing over the past few years and companies like Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Twitch have joined the crypto craze of late.