Bitcoin Jumps To New Record High After Mastercard, Uber Interest

Bitcoin has spiked to a new all-time high after Mastercard and Uber said they will explore accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on Thursday revealed that although the company discussed but “quickly dismissed” the idea of buying bitcoin with corporate cash like Telsa, Uber would consider accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.

“Just like we accept all kinds of the local currency, we are going to look at cryptocurrency and/or bitcoin in terms of currency to transact,” he said. “That’s good for business. That’s good for our riders and our eaters. That we’ll 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.” 

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On Wednesday, Mastercard announced intentions to open up its network to some cryptocurrencies, a move the credit card giant said will allow consumers and merchants “to transact in an entirely new form of payment.” Mastercard had already let customers do some transactions with cryptocurrencies, but they took place outside the company’s formal network
It comes as America’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon, also said it would allow Bitcoin payments and transfers.
Investors in the cryptocurrency hope that mainstream acceptance will lead to larger transaction volumes and higher prices, reducing the volatility that has caused issues for traders in the past.