Ferrari Accepts Crypto Payments To Buy Cars In The United States. Ferrari has started accepting payments in crypto for luxury sports cars in the United States (US). Ferrari will also expand its crypto payment scheme to Europe following demand from wealthy customers.
This was conveyed by Ferrari Chief Marketing and Commercial Enrico Galliera to Reuters, quoted from CNBC, Saturday (14/10/2023).
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Most blue-chip companies avoid crypto because the volatility of bitcoin and other tokens makes it impractical for trading. Uneven regulations and high energy use also hinder the spread of crypto as a means of payment.
Before Ferrari, electric car maker Tesla in 2021 started accepting payments in bitcoin, before CEO Elon Musk stopped it due to environmental concerns.
To Reuters, Enrico said that his party had reduced crypto’s carbon footprint through the introduction of new software and greater use of renewable sources.
“Our target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 throughout the company chain has been confirmed,” he said.
Ferrari said the decision was taken in response to requests from the market and dealers as many of its clients have investments in crypto.
“Some of them are young investors who are building their wealth through crypto. Others are more traditional investors, who want to diversify their portfolios,” he said.
Meanwhile, a number of cryptocurrencies such as ether have improved their energy efficiency, while bitcoin still attracts criticism because mining is energy-intensive.
Ferrari shipped more than 1,800 cars to America including the United States in the first half of 2023. Galliera did not say how many cars Ferrari expected to sell via crypto.
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He said the company’s portfolio is strong and fully booked until 2025, but the company wants to test this growing cryptocurrency.
“This will help us connect with people who aren’t necessarily our clients but might be able to afford a Ferrari,” he said.
The Italian company, which is selling 13,200 cars in 2022 with prices starting at just over 200,000 euros and going up to 2 million euros, plans to expand its crypto scheme to Europe in the first quarter of 2024. Then to other regions that legally accept crypto.
Ferrari Accepts Crypto Payments To Buy Cars In The United States. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is Ferrari’s largest region, accounting for 46 percent of total car deliveries in the first semester of 2023. “Interest in the United States and Europe is the same, we don’t see a big difference,” he said.
The countries that restrict crypto include China. Ferrarti has turned to one of the largest crypto payment processors, BitPay for the initial stage in the United States and will allow transactions in bitcoin, ether and USDC, one of the largest stablecoins. Ferrari may use other payment processors in different regions.
“The price will not change, there are no fees, there are no additional costs if you pay via cryptocurrency,” he said.
Bitpay will immediately convert crypto payments into traditional currency on behalf of Ferrari dealers so they are protected from price changes.
“This is one of our main goals, to avoid, both dealers and us, dealing with cryptocurrencies directly and being protected from wide fluctuations,” he said.
As a payment processor, BitPay will ensure virtual money comes from legitimate sources and does not originate from criminal activity or be used to launder the proceeds of crime and evade taxes.
Ferrari management said that most of its dealers in the US have registered and will agree to the scheme. “I’m sure other parties will join in soon,” he said.
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Previously reported, a Kenyan parliamentary panel asked Kenya’s information technology regulator to close operations of the Worldcoin cryptocurrency project in the country until stricter regulations were implemented.
The government suspended the project in early August following privacy objections over user iris scans in exchange for digital IDs to create a new “identity and financial network.”
Worldcoin was launched in various countries around the world by Tools for Humanity, a company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. This also received attention in the UK, Germany and France.
The project still has a virtual presence in Kenya and can be accessed via the Internet, even after its suspension in August.
“Kenyan Communications Authority regulators must deactivate the virtual platforms of Tools for Humanity Corp and Germany’s Tools for Humanity GmbH (Worldcoin) including blacklisting the IP addresses of related websites,” said the panel, quoted from Yahoo Finance, Friday (13/10/ 2023).
They also called for the suspension of the company’s physical presence in Kenya until there is a legal framework for the regulation of virtual assets and virtual service providers. The Worldcoin press office said they had not seen anything official announced by the Committee directly.
Ferrari Accepts Crypto Payments To Buy Cars In The United States. The panel’s report will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and adoption at a later date. The panel also asked government ministries to develop regulations for crypto assets and companies providing crypto services and asked the police to investigate Tools for Humanity and take necessary legal action.
