Bitcoin bros rejoice, as Ferrari is now accepting cryptocurrency payments in the United States.
While there may be the stereotype for all crypto bros to drive around in flashy Lamborghinis, these bitcoin bankers may soon be switching from the raging bull to the prancing horses. That is as Ferrari has recently announced its plans to accept cryptocurrency as payment for its supercars in the United States, with plans to extend this scheme to Europe in the near future too.
Ferrari’s move towards accepting cryptocurrency as payment apparently comes in response to requests from the market and dealers, who has claimed that many of its clients have invested in crypto. Enrico Galliera, the marketing and commercial chief of the Italian supercar marque, further emphasised that this move may help the automaker ‘connect to people who are not necessarily our clients but might afford a Ferrari’.
In order to process these cryptocurrency payments, Ferrari has turned to one of the biggest cryptocurrency payment processors, BitPay, for the initial phase in the United States. As the payment processor, BitPay is responsible in ensuring that the virtual currencies come from legitimate sources and not involved in illicit activity. The company will also immediately turn cryptocurrency payments into traditional currency on behalf of Ferrari’s dealers, such they are protected from price fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market.
The supercar marque is currently allowing for transactions to occur in bitcoin, ether or USDC, one of the largest so-called stablecoins. Ferrari has also since been confirmed that the prices of its supercars will remain unchanged for purchases made in cryptocurrency, with no additional fees or surcharges imposed from using this particular payment method as well.
It is however still an unknown quantity as to how many Ferraris will be sold through cryptocurrency, though the automaker did state for its order portfolio to be fully booked well into 2025. So crypto bros will likely have to wait a while to getting their prancing horses.
Moreover, while Ferrari plans to expand this cryptocurrency purchase plan to Europe, it is unlikely that any Chinese crypto bros will be buying their Ferraris using Bitcoin. That is as China is among the countries that restrict crypto payments, together with Egypt, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and others.
Ferrari is however technically not the only automaker that accepts cryptocurrency as payment, with Tesla having already trialed this payment method with Bitcoin in 2021. The American EV manufacturer has since paused transactions through cryptocurrency though, with the official given reason for this temporary halting being environmental concerns from crypto mining.
Galliera has nevertheless addressed this particular concern by stating for cryptocurrencies to have made efforts to reduce their carbon footprint through the introduction of new software and a larger use of renewable sources.”Our target to reach for carbon neutrality by 2030 along our whole value chain is absolutely confirmed,” he said in an interview.
