But in an interview, Dara Khosrowshahi said environmental concerns and high transaction fees mean the time isn't right.
Uber has revealed that it will accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method "at some point" in the future — but the ride-hailing giant's chief executive says now isn't a good time.
Dara Khosrowshahi said the company was holding back for now amid concerns over high transaction fees, as well as the impact that mining for digital assets has on the environment. In an interview with Bloomberg, he added:
"We're having conversations all the time … 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."
Although he was vague on the details and failed to commit to a specific date in the future, Khosrowshahi said:
"Is Uber going to accept crypto in the future? Absolutely, at some point. This isn't the right point — but we will."
What remains to be seen is whether Uber intends to back this up by purchasing Bitcoin to hold in reserve. The cryptocurrency tends to surge off the back of such announcements, rallying when Tesla snapped up BTC worth $1.5 billion this time last year.
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A Challenging Year
Khosrowshahi was also grilled on what has been a challenging year for Uber's stock price. Shares have fallen by more than 40% in the past year, and by 20% since the year began.
He acknowledged that rising interest rates mean that it's been a difficult trading climate for many firms, not just Uber.
The CEO said that he believes Uber's fundamentals are strong — with the number of consumers relying on its taxis and food delivery service rallying by 27% year on year.
And although Khosrowshahi acknowledged that inflation is a concern, he said that Uber's biggest challenge has been supply constraints — and ensuring there are enough drivers in its network to meet demand. A better balance is now being achieved, and gross bookings are now at record levels.
