Ferrari, the iconic Italian carmaker, has announced that it will accept cryptocurrency payments for its luxury sports cars in the U.S. and Europe. The company said that it made this decision after receiving requests from its wealthy customers, many of whom have invested in crypto.
Ferrari is one of the few blue-chip companies that have embraced crypto as a means of payment, despite its volatility and regulatory uncertainty. Most companies have shied away from crypto, citing environmental concerns, security risks and technical challenges.
However, Ferrari’s Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera told Reuters that cryptocurrencies have improved their energy efficiency and reduced their carbon footprint through new software and renewable sources. He said that Ferrari’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 along its whole value chain was not affected by its crypto initiative.
Galliera also said that Ferrari’s customers were interested in crypto for different reasons. Some were young investors who had built their fortunes around cryptocurrencies, while others were more traditional investors who wanted to diversify their portfolios.
Ferrari said that it started to accept crypto payments in the U.S. in October 2023 and that it would extend the scheme to Europe by the first quarter of 2024. The company plans to accept crypto payments in other regions where crypto is legally accepted in the future.
Ferrari will allow transactions in bitcoin, ether and USDC, which are some of the most popular and stable cryptocurrencies. The company has partnered with BitPay, one of the largest cryptocurrency payment processors, to handle the transactions.
BitPay will convert the cryptocurrency payments into fiat currency on behalf of Ferrari’s dealers, so they are protected from price fluctuations. BitPay will also ensure that the crypto payments are compliant with anti-money laundering and tax regulations.
Ferrari said that the prices of its cars would not change and that there would be no fees or surcharges for paying with crypto. The company’s cars start at over 200,000 euros ($211,000) and go up to 2 million euros.
Ferrari sold 13,200 cars in 2022 and has a strong order portfolio that is fully booked well into 2025. The company hopes that accepting crypto payments will help it connect to new customers who can afford a Ferrari.
Ferrari’s move to accept crypto payments comes as the crypto market continues to grow and attract more mainstream adoption. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies was over $2.5 trillion as of October 14, 2023.
