Ferrari responds to the increasingly urgent demand of its wealthy clientele and will accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in the future - provided they come from legal sources. The Italian luxury sports car manufacturer is already accepting payments in digital currency in the US and plans to offer this option in Europe soon, as Ferrari Sales Manager Enrico Galliera told Reuters.

Customers and traders have increasingly asked for it, as many of the exclusive customers have invested parts of their wealth in cryptocurrencies. "Some are young investors who have built their wealth in this way, others are traditional investors looking for diversification," explained Galliera.

BitPay, one of the largest cryptocurrency payment processors, will handle transactions in Bitcoin, Ether and the so-called stablecoin USDC in the initial phase. Galliera emphasized that there will be no additional fees or surcharges when paying with cryptocurrencies. BitPay will immediately convert the payments on behalf of Ferrari dealers into traditional currencies to protect them from the severe fluctuations of digital currencies.

"Both our dealers and we should avoid dealing directly with cryptocurrencies and be protected from their strong fluctuations," explained Galliera.

In response to the question of how many vehicles Ferrari is expected to sell via cryptocurrencies, the sales manager could not provide an exact forecast. However, the company reportedly has orders well into 2025 and now wants to test the potential of this market. "This will help us connect with people who may not necessarily be our current customers, but could afford a Ferrari," he added.

The acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange in business is not yet widespread. The US electric car manufacturer Tesla briefly accepted payments in Bitcoin in 2021, but CEO Elon Musk quickly stopped this due to the high energy consumption in creating the currency. In 2022, Ferrari sold a total of 13,200 cars, at prices ranging from 200,000 euros to up to two million euros.

Over 1800 cars were delivered to the America region, including the USA, in the first half of this year.

The majority of large corporations, including the automotive industry, have so far been hesitant about cryptocurrencies, as the high volatility of Bitcoin and other digital tokens makes trading difficult. Inadequate regulation and high energy consumption have so far prevented a wider use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

However, payment processor BitPay promises to ensure that the virtual currencies come from legitimate sources and are not used for illegal activities, money laundering or tax evasion.