Airbnb confirmed its intention to promote cryptocurrency. It has even offered to house up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The European Union estimates that around four million Ukrainians may be forced to flee Ukraine due to Russian invasion.
Airbnb’s CEO Discusses Cryptocurrency and the Refugee Crisis in Ukraine
The CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, talked about cryptocurrency and his company’s efforts to help Ukrainian refugees in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. Airbnb claims that it has over 6 million listings and 4 million hosts worldwide. Active listings for Airbnb are available in 100,000 towns and cities.
Chesky was asked if Airbnb supports crypto since some people in Ukraine are trying to take payments in cryptocurrency following Russia’s invasion. Chesky replied:
It is. I’m personally supportive of cryptocurrency, you see. I think it’s a really interesting technology.
He continued: “I went on Twitter in the beginning of the year and I asked a community on Twitter if Airbnb can launch anything in 2022, what would it be? It was “Yes!” [to] add crypto payments, so I have a team looking into that.”
The CEO clarified that there is no announcement yet for Airbnb regarding cryptocurrency payments.
We will be looking into it and are prepared to respond.
Noted that it is unlikely that anything crypto will be implemented “that quickly,” Chesky said: “So right now we’re really focused on is providing housing for refugees. That’s what I’ve mobilized a team to do.”
Airbnb has long been interested in cryptocurrency. The firm listed blockchain and cryptocurrency as the technology it was considering in its November 2017 prospectus to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.
Airbnb has announced that it will provide temporary housing free of charge to up 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The UN estimates that more than 600,000. civilians have fled Ukraine in the past two years since the Russian invasion. According to the European Union, up to 4 million Ukrainians may be forced to flee Ukraine by the Russian invasion.
“We reached out to governments in Poland and Germany and Hungary and Romania, and countries even west of them to offer assistance,” the Airbnb CEO explained.
“We’ve been reaching out to our hosts. We’ve secured funding and so we’re prepared to house up to 100,000 refugees,” he shared. “Frankly, we can house as many refugees as we have hosts.”
You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund
Do you agree with Airbnb offering accommodation for as many as 100,000 refugees? Is it possible for Airbnb to accept cryptocurrency? Comment below to let us know your thoughts.
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