Note that the cryptocurrency industry is becoming increasingly mature and serious, so it's only a matter of time before big companies connect and engage with digital assets. For example, last week it was revealed that cryptocurrency exchange Binance had invested $200 million in Forbes. As Changpen Zhao, founder of the trading platform, pointed out at the time, the coin industry can already be considered a "base layer" after that, which in addition finances many industries in the world. Read more about this important event in a separate article.

Which companies support cryptocurrencies

Here is one of Khosrowshahi’s quotes in which the executive shared the company’s management’s attitude towards digital assets. The replica was published by the news outlet Decrypt.

We talk about cryptocurrencies all the time. I think right now we see Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies as a very valuable means of savings. But their exchange mechanism is expensive and they are bad for the environment. As the whole process becomes more environmentally friendly, we will pay even more attention to crypto.

Accordingly, at this point, Uber's management is only concerned about the sustainability of cryptocurrency, which means it's essentially about the power sources that BTC miners use. Otherwise, blockchain is great for small, fast transactions - but it does require a Layer 2 solution called Lightning Network. Recall that this is the technology used in El Salvador, where BTC can even be used to pay for a hamburger at the local McDonald's.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi

As a reminder, Bitcoin is often criticised for the negative impact the cryptocurrency – and more specifically its mining – has on the environment. This is because the BTC network constantly needs huge amounts of electricity to run, which goes into solving time-consuming cryptographic tasks and adding blocks to its existing blockchain, which keeps the blockchain running. Much of it, however, is now generated in power plants, which harm the environment by emitting carbon dioxide and similar substances.

Recently, though, Bitcoin aficionados have claimed that energy from renewable sources is becoming more and more abundant in this area.

In addition, the mining complexity scaling mechanism forces miners to continually increase the processing power of their equipment. That is, the total capacity of the network is constantly growing and consuming more and more power every year. However, the head of Uber is confident that one day this problem will be solved after all. He continues.

Will Uber accept cryptocurrencies in the future? Of course, it will become a reality at some point. It’s just not the time yet. But we will definitely work with crypto.

Here’s a recording of the Uber executive’s remarks in the original. We recommend that you watch it if you can hear English.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so optimistic about the crypto industry. Last week, Hungarian National Bank Governor György Matolcsy proposed a total ban on all cryptocurrency trading and mining operations in the European Union. In addition, in a recent publication, Matolcsy referred to the results of China’s cryptocurrency ban and possible restrictions on crypto by the Central Bank of Russia. Here is his quote, which is cited by Cointelegraph.

I fully agree with this proposal to ban crypto, and also support the view of the EU’s senior financial regulator that the EU should ban mining used to issue new bitcoins.

Hungarian National Bank governor György Matolcsy

The manager is convinced that crypto is being used purely to “service illegal activities and create financial pyramids”. Matolcsy also highlighted concerns from Central Bank officials that the market value of cryptocurrencies is determined by “speculative demand for future growth, which creates bubbles”. The official concluded by calling for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies to counter the risks to investors of pyramid schemes and bubbles. Here is his other rejoinder.

EU citizens and companies would be allowed to own cryptocurrencies abroad and regulators would monitor their assets.

Matolcsy’s words look rather ironic against the backdrop of how many of his country’s citizens feel about crypto. As a reminder, last year a bronze monument was erected in Budapest dedicated to the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Accordingly, there are plenty of supporters of decentralised assets within the country too.


We think the Uber executive's positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies in general reflects the stance of many big companies. They do seem willing to get in touch with digital assets, but there are a number of conditions that need to be met. And as representatives of the blockchain community are working on them, crypto fans in this case only have to wait.

What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our Millionaire Crypto Chat. We’ll talk about other topics related to the blockchain and decentralisation industry there as well.