Ferrari accepts payments in cryptocurrency

The Italian car company began accepting cryptocurrency payments for super sports cars in the US and will expand to Europe.

Ferrari Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera told Reuters this week that they have started accepting payments in cryptocurrency in the US market. In the first phase, Ferrari will cooperate with BitPay to process payments. They currently accept Bitcoin, ether, and USDC.

"The car price remains the same, no fees and no surcharges," Galliera said.

BitPay will instantly convert cryptocurrency payments to fiat currencies. This will avoid the risk of price fluctuations.

A Ferrari is displayed at the exhibition. Photo: Reuters

Ferrari said the decision was based on the needs of the market and dealers. Many of their customers now invest in cryptocurrencies. "Some are young investors, building assets with cryptocurrency. Some are traditional investors who want to diversify their portfolios," Galliera said.

In the first half of this year, Ferrari sold more than 1,800 cars in the Americas. Galliera did not say how many cars he expected to sell with digital currency. "This will help us connect with people who are not yet customers, but have the ability to buy Ferrari cars," he said.

Ferrari cars have a starting price of more than 200,000 euros (211,000 USD). Some cars cost up to 2 million euros. They plan to expand the cryptocurrency payment program to Europe early next year and other regions when cryptocurrency is legalized.

Many large companies still shy away from cryptocurrencies, due to large price fluctuations that limit their commercial use. The policy system is not yet complete and mining consumes a lot of fuel, making digital currencies not commonly used in payments.

Electric car company Tesla once accepted payment in Bitcoin in 2021. But then, this program was canceled because Tesla CEO Elon Musk was concerned about the impact on the environment.

Galliera said new software and the use of renewable energy have helped them reduce carbon emissions. "Our goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 is completely feasible," he said.