Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari has announced its intention to accept cryptocurrency payments for its vehicles in the United States. The decision was made in response to multiple requests from Ferrari’s clientele, who have expressed a strong desire to use virtual currencies.
With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, it’s reasonable to expect that established corporations would be eager to join the trend. This hasn’t been the case, though. Most of these businesses have refrained from dealing with cryptocurrency.
The main causes of their reluctance are the absence of thorough regulation and the extreme volatility of cryptocurrencies. They further point out that mining virtual currencies requires a lot of energy, which runs counter to the movement toward sustainability on a worldwide scale.
Ferrari, though, is defying convention. Cryptocurrencies have been making great progress in lowering their carbon impact, according to Enrico Galliera, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer of Ferrari. This has been mostly accomplished by using more renewable energy sources for mining operations and introducing new software that uses less energy.
Ferrari has joined forces with BitPay, one of the leading global cryptocurrency payment processors, to launch its cryptocurrency-enabled payment system.
Ferrari will initially accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC — one of the biggest stablecoins — as payment methods. Stablecoins reduce volatility by linking their value to an asset reserve, typically in the form of a fiat currency, such as the US dollar.
Ferrari intends to launch its cryptocurrency payment program in the US, but it will soon expand to Europe. To further expand its payment choices, the company is also considering the use of additional payment processors in various locations.
Ferrari’s involvement in Web3 isn’t a new development. In 2021, Ferrari inked a multi-year partnership with Swiss technology firm Velas Network to create and release non-fungible tokens (NFT) for its fans.
