- Bitcoin adoption has received another boost as BNY Mellon and Uber discussed adoption of the cryptocurrency
- BNY Mellon stated that it would offer custodial services of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC that the company was discussing accepting Bitcoin as payment for rides
If 2020 was Bitcoin’s year for price then 2021 could prove to be its year for adoption. Led by Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy, the adoption of Bitcoin by some of the world’s biggest companies and institutions is growing fast, with Tesla and PayPal being two of the biggest proponents so far. However, yesterday brought news of two new additions to the Bitcoin bandwagon – BNY Mellon and Uber – bringing together America’s oldest bank and one of its most recent success stories.
BNY Mellon Sees Bitcoin as Becoming a Regular Asset
BNY Mellon announced that it would start offering cryptocurrency custody solutions crypto assets for its asset management clients following a “surge in interest and demand from clients” amid a change in ethos over the likes of Bitcoin in recent months. In the biggest sign yet that cryptocurrencies are becoming a mainstream asset, BNY Mellon will use the same “plumbing” to transfer digital assets as it uses for its traditional assets, taking the view that cryptocurrencies will be treated like any other asset in time.
Roman Regelman, chief executive of BNY Mellon’s asset-servicing and digital businesses, affirmed his belief that, “Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream” but added that it would be another three to five years before digital assets are fully integrated into the institutional banking framework.
Uber to Accept Crypto for Rides?
What could be more immediate use of Bitcoin is for your Uber (when you’re allowed out and about of course). Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Thursday that they are looking at accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the near future, although he ruled out the potential of converting some of their cash reserves to the cryptocurrency.
Khosrowshahi said that Uber was “not in the speculation business” and would be keeping the cash it has earned but noted that it was looking into accepting Bitcoin as payment for rides:
…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.
It seems that every passing week there’s another company interested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, which can only be good news for those involved in the sector, and bagholders of course!
