Uber (UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the ride-sharing giant would consider accepting cryptocurrencies as payment but the brakes on buying bitcoin with corporate cash.
"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 rides and our eaters," Khosrowshahi told CNBC, referring to Uber Eats. "So that will certainly look at and if there's a benefit there, if there's a need there, we'll do it. We're just not going to do it as part of a promotion."
'We're going to keep our cash safe.'
However, Khosrowshahi said, unlike Tesla (TSLA) Uber would not buy bitcoin with the cash on its balance sheet.
"It's a conversation that's happened that has been quickly dismissed," he said. "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 build not the investments that we invest in."
Uber will therefore not follow the example of Tesla, one of the few large companies with cryptocurrencies - bitcoin - in its balance sheet.
Tesla announced in February 2021 that it had invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
The electric vehicle maker made an $128 million gain selling some of its bitcoins in the first quarter of 2021, but ended the year with a $101 million asset impairment loss related to bitcoin.
Uber said Thursday that it will report $5 billion in operating profits by 2024, compared with a loss of $800 million in 2021, with gross bookings rising to between $165 billion and $175 billion.
That tally would represent a 140% gain from the $90 billion in gross bookings recorded last year.
'A Lot More Possibilities for Shoppers'
Uber posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings after the close of trading Wednesday, and eked out a small adjusted profit of $82 million for the three months ending in December, its second profitable quarter in a row.
Revenue surged 83% from last year's pandemic trough to $5.8 billion, Uber said, while delivery revenues, which includes Uber Eats, rose 78% to $2.42 billion.
As of Dec. 31, Uber reported it had $5.65 billion in cash and cash equivalents, along with $1.18 billion in short-term investments.
Mastercard (MA) said on Wednesday it was planning to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year, joining a string of large companies that have pledged similar support, Reuters reported.
"Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment. This change may open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets," Mastercard said.
Also, Bank of New York Mellon (BK) said Thursday it had formed a new unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets. The Digital Assets unit is expected to roll out the offerings later this year, the bank said.
