The Chief Executive of Booking Holdings, the company behind Booking, Priceline, Kayak, Cheapflights, and Rentalcares, believes cryptocurrencies will be ‘widely accepted’ someday. Glenn Fogel told Skift that he believes blockchain will continue to grow across the globe.

If you’ve ever traveled, you’ve inevitably stumbled across one of the many firms owned by Booking Holdings. From Booking to Priceline to Cheapflights, the firm has a large sway over the tourism industry globally. Now, its Chief Executive, Glenn Fogel, has come out to support cryptocurrencies in a big way — he’s definitely bullish on the industry and blockchain technology long-term.

Booking CEO A Crypto-Believer

In an interview with Skift, Fogel told the media outlet that there is “potential for a new form of global currency which is protected and secure.” Although this could possibly still be Bitcoin (BTC), many still question its legitimacy. Ultimately, Fogel is of the opinion that the ‘blockchain base’ will continue to expand and be more widely accepted. Interestingly, Fogel also believes that cryptocurrencies will find significant traction outside of the U.S. due to it having “a well-accepted credit card payment system.”

Fogel believes that, ultimately, the future will be wholly digital. He envisions a future where most payments will be done via your smartphone — cash “will become rare” as the digital economy becomes ever more important. Of course, blockchain and cryptocurrencies will be central to this evolution which is already happening right in front of our eyes.

What to Expect for the Future

Despite his optimism about the cryptocurrency industry in the long-term, none of Booking Holdings’ firms currently accept cryptocurrencies. Perhaps we can expect them to be added in the near future, given that this is the first time Fogel has publicly supported the industry.

Booking Holdings, however, has still been looking closely at jumping into the cryptocurrency space nonetheless. Recently, the conglomerate announced its intent to be a partner in Facebook’s Libra Association which would mean it would run a node for the network.

A global currency like the Libra could potentially solve the “travel payments dilemma” and help to better streamline the world economy. Being a major player in this sector, Booking Holdings is clearly looking at this development very closely.

Do you agree that the travel industry has much to gain from the cryptocurrency industry? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments.

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