Ferrari now accepts crypto coins as a means of payment when selling its luxury sports cars. Customers in the United States can now pay with digital coins. This should also be possible in European countries early next year.
Commercial CEO Enrico Galliera says in an interview with the Reuters news agency that bitcoin, among other things, is accepted. Customers can also pay with Ether and USDC. The latter currency is directly linked to the value of the dollar.
According to the Italian car brand, many customers and car dealers want the option to pay with crypto coins. “It sometimes concerns young investors who have built their wealth with crypto coins,” Galliera said.
“This can help us connect with people who are not necessarily our customers but could afford a Ferrari,” he explained. The price of a Ferrari starts at around 200,000 euros and can go up to 2 million euros.
Many companies refuse cryptos
Many large companies refuse to accept crypto coins as a means of payment because their value fluctuates much more strongly than that of more traditional currencies such as the dollar and the euro. This makes it much riskier to own them.
Another disadvantage of bitcoin, the most commonly used cryptocurrency, is that a lot of energy is needed to maintain the system behind it. Electric car manufacturer Tesla made it possible to pay with bitcoins in 2021, but CEO Elon Musk put an end to this due to environmental concerns.
According to Galliera, the risks of large price fluctuations of crypto coins for Ferrari are limited. The company makes payments with digital coins that are immediately converted into traditional money by BitPay. This payment service provider must also ensure that the cryptocurrency comes from reliable parties and is therefore not criminal money that could be laundered.
