Italian car manufacturer Ferrari accepts crypto payments for luxury cars in the US

Ferrari plans to expand crypto payments to Europe by the first quarter of 2024, with plans to further expand to other regions where it is legal

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Published: Oct 16, 2023 07:07:51 PM IST

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In response to demands from the market and dealers in the United States, the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari has started accepting crypto payments for its luxury sports cars. The company is initially accepting payments in popular crypto, like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and the stablecoin USDC.

The car manufacturer has partnered with BitPay, a leading crypto payment processor, to facilitate this. BitPay is responsible for verifying the legitimacy of digital currencies and converting them into fiat currency to shield Ferrari’s dealers from price fluctuations of the crypto market.

“This was one of our main goals: avoiding, both our dealers and us, to directly handle cryptocurrencies and being shielded from their wide fluctuations,” said Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer.

Most US dealers have already agreed to this scheme of crypto payments by Ferrari or are about to agree. “I am confident others will join soon,” Galliera said.

The carmaker plans to expand its crypto payment acceptance to Europe by the first quarter of 2024. After that, the company may offer the crypto payment option in other regions where crypto is legally accepted. The company might, however, use different payment processors in different regions.

Ferrari isn’t the only car company accepting crypto payments. Recently, Honda partnered with FCF, a blockchain payment system, to accept crypto payments.

However, most blue-chip companies have steered clear of crypto due to their volatility, patchy regulations, and high energy usage. These include electric carmaker Tesla, which in 2021 began to accept payment in bitcoin before CEO Elon Musk halted it because of environmental concerns.

Regarding the environmental concerns of crypto, Galliera commented that crypto had made efforts to reduce its carbon footprint by introducing new software and more considerable use of renewable sources. While some crypto, such as Ether (ETH), have improved their energy efficiency, Bitcoin still attracts criticism for its energy-intensive mining.

Ferrari’s decision to adopt crypto payments signals broader acceptance of digital currencies in traditional sectors. With the crypto and web3 space constantly evolving, the move sets a precedent for other luxury car manufacturers to explore similar payment options.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash