Accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay for trips will create a great deal of buzz for Uber, but it won't solve its big problem: the failure to capture value for their stockholders.

Uber is getting serious about accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for its services, according to a statement made by its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi during a Bloomberg interview last week. "Absolutely, at some point," he said.

Khosrowshahi's statement was music to the ears of cryptocurrency bulls. They hailed the prospect of cryptocurrencies getting broader adoption as a medium of exchange.

Kunal Sawhney, CEO at Kalkine Media, is one of them.

"If one of the most popular companies in the world has expressed its willingness to accept crypto as the payment option, then it clearly shows the growing importance of cryptocurrency in our day-to-day life," he said.

But the point at which bitcoin will become an acceptable currency for Uber could be far away.

"With transaction fees on the bitcoin network ranging from $1.50 to $3, your Uber ride would need to be $50 to $150 at current levels to be equivalent to typical credit card processing fees," said Kyle Zappitell, CEO and cofounder at Neon. "At times of extreme congestion per transaction, fees have gotten up to over $60 in the past year on the bitcoin network. This seems like an unwanted business variable, especially when Uber rides commonly land below the $50 mark. Either Uber or the user would be losing money vs. paying with a credit card."

Then there's bitcoin's volatility.

"I do not agree with Khosrowshahi's assessment that BTC and some of the cryptos are quite valuable as a store of value," said Julius de Kempenaer, crypto expert and senior technical analyst at Stockcharts.com. "I don't think that a lot of people will see it as a store of value when it changes its value more than 10% overnight on a regular basis. It will be a nice gimmick to pay BTC 0.00023854 for your Uber ride and then add BTC 0.00004771 for the tip later, but that's about it."

Bitcoin won't solve the company's big problem, the failure to capture value for their stockholders.

Uber, together with its close competitor Lyft, are great companies. They create plenty of value for riders by making riding around cities and suburbs easy, convenient and efficient. But the two companies have not been good investments. Both stocks have headed south since they went public while the rest of the market headed north.

There's a good explanation for it.

The two companies do not capture value for their stockholders, as evidenced by sizable negative economic value added (EVA). Uber's EVA is -14%, according to Gurufocus.com estimates. Lyft's EVA is -41%. Negative EVAs mean that they destroy, rather than create, value as they grow. It also means they have no sustainable competitive advantage.

There's a good reason for that: the two companies' models are too similar. As a result, any car you get is likely to have both a Lyft and an Uber sticker in the window, meaning that the two companies have no pricing power, the key driver of EVA.

And bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies cannot change the situation.

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