After allowing the sale of NFTs, e-commerce giant eBay said that it could soon accept payments in cryptocurrencies, primarily to attract more younger customers.
The much awaited decision comes years after eBay first considered adding support for bitcoin payments to its retail platform back in 2014. But eBay isn’t the only company mulling over integrating with crypto.
Uber said it would eventually accept crypto payments, and if it does, both Uber and eBay would be joining a number of big household names including Microsoft, AT&T and Wikipedia that have taken bold steps into integrating cryptocurrencies in their businesses.
Cryptos like bitcoin in particular seem to be enjoying significant retail attention lately, however, the asset’s price has fluctuated from a high of $70,000 to $35,000, making its volatile nature quite hard to ignore. It would do a whole lot of good for crypto and its investors if big companies continue to legitimize the crypto industry. So what’s stopping big companies from accepting crypto wholeheartedly?
Why aren’t other companies into crypto?
While volatility worries some companies, Uber for one thinks it isn’t time yet to accept crypto because of the environmental impact of mining. As a matter of fact, Elon Musk, who needs no introduction, made global headlines in May 2021, when he said that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin over climate concerns – a statement that many think kickstarted the plunge of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at the time.
Bitcoin mining facilities rely heavily on non renewables like coal-based power that only worsens the climate crisis. Switching to renewables would not only reduce Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, but it could push other industries towards green and optimal methods.
With that in mind, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy –the largest corporate holder of bitcoin (Tesla is #2), along with Elon Musk spoke to major bitcoin miners in North America to form a new Bitcoin Mining Council, focused on promoting sustainable crypto mining.
Several minds are at work to resolve issued around crypto’s use of energy. And when it comes to volatility, it’s important that crypto evolves into a stable payment option, and one that we can use responsibly. One way to go about that is for public officials across the globe to form new rules to manage cryptocurrency markets, which, along with sustainable efforts could be the right nudge for companies on the fence about crypto.
Also Read: Is this the biggest crypto story yet?
