Ferrari recently joined the train of companies paying in cryptocurrencies for its luxury sports cars in the US, and Enrico Gallira, the company’s chief marketing and commercial officer, said Ferrari will expand the program’s scope to Europe based on its requests. Wealthy clients.
Most large companies have shied away from cryptocurrencies, due to regulation and rapid volatility, making them impossible to trade, and high energy use hindering the spread of digital currencies as a means of payment.
These companies include the electric car manufacturer (Tesla), which in 2021 began accepting payments in Bitcoin — the largest cryptocurrency — before CEO Elon Musk stopped dealing in it due to environmental concerns.
Payment in cryptocurrencies
Galliera explained to Reuters that cryptocurrencies have made efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by introducing new projects and making greater use of renewable resources.
He added, “Our goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire value chain by 2030 is absolutely firm.”
Ferrari said that the decision was made in response to the demands of the market and traders, many of its clients invest in cryptocurrencies, and some of them are young investors who have built their wealth from cryptocurrencies, and others are traditional investors. Investment Portfolios.”
While some cryptocurrencies such as the second largest (Ethereum) have improved their energy efficiency, Bitcoin faces criticism for its energy-intensive mining.
Ferrari shipped more than 1,800 cars to the Americas region, which includes the United States, in the first half of the year.
While Galliera did not specify the number of cars Ferrari expects to sell with cryptocurrencies, demand for the company’s cars is strong and they are fully booked until 2025.
The Italian company, which sold 13,200 cars in 2022 and reached 2 million euros starting at more than 200,000 euros ($211,000), plans to expand the cryptocurrency project to include Europe in the first quarter of next year and later to other regions. Encryption is acceptable.
Bitcoin and Ethereum
Europe, the Middle East and Africa represent Ferrari’s biggest markets, accounting for 46 percent of total Italian car exports in the first half of the year.
Ferrari has used one of the largest early-stage cryptocurrency payment service providers (Penpay) in the United States, and the largest cryptocurrency known as stablecoins will allow transactions in Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC, and Ferrari may use other payment processors. in different regions.
“Prices don’t change, and there are no additional fees if you pay with cryptocurrencies,” Galliera said. BitPay instantly converts cryptocurrency payments on behalf of Ferrari dealers into traditional currency, protecting them from price fluctuations.
“This is one of our main goals,” Galeira added, “to avoid us and our traders dealing directly with cryptocurrencies and protect against their wide fluctuations.”
As a payment provider, BinPay will ensure that virtual currencies come from legitimate sources and are not derived from criminal activities or used to launder the proceeds of crime or evade taxes.
Cryptocurrency Prohibition
Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency, created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto; It was first used in 2009; The total number of cryptocurrencies now exceeds 12 thousand.
Many countries have banned digital currencies, with nine including China banning them outright. A few countries like El Salvador and the Central African Republic that have legalized Bitcoin have adopted it.
Many major companies around the world accept payments in digital currencies:
Starbucks
Starbucks is one of the largest coffee chains in the world, with nearly 34,000 stores in 80 countries, half of which are in the United States.
Starbucks has partnered with digital wallet provider Bakkt to allow customers to pay with Bitcoin.
Home Depot
Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, and one of the largest in the world by revenue. It has branches in Canada and Mexico, and the company has installed Flexa payment systems in its stores that allow payments with Bitcoin. .
The BMW
Some of the luxury German carmaker’s UK dealerships accept Bitcoin as payment for new and used vehicles.
Microsoft Corporation
The American software company has been accepting Bitcoin payments on its online store since 2014.
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