Wealthy individuals are those with high net worth. These people tend to have a diversified their wealth to include marketable securities, like stocks and bonds, as well as real estate holdings, and some ethers.

Other choices include high-value jewelry or art pieces, and also luxury items.

But in the digital age, assets can also include Cryptocurrencies.

While cryptocurrencies are known to have volatile value, where their prices can skyrocket or plummet pretty easily, a lot of people have put considerable interest in owning this kind of asset due to the hype, the anonymity, and other reasons.

What this means, chances are, these rich people are also willing to spend it.

And Ferrari wants to help.

Ferrari is an luxury sports car manufacturer from Italy.

Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari, the company is known for creating a long list of expensive supercars. Not only that, because the company that is regarded by many as the epitome of automotive excellence, is also an iconic brand with a rich racing heritage.

Because of this, the car commands a premium price.

In 2023, the cheapest new production Ferrari is the the Ferrari Roma, which comes at the price around €200,000, whereas the most expensive is the Ferrari Daytona SP3, a limited-edition hypercar that is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine that produces 829 horsepower and 599 lb-ft of torque.

Beyond being a mere mode of transportation, many considers owning a Ferrari as an appreciation for automotive artistry, a passion for the exhilarating experience of driving, a refined taste and discerning sophistication, and not to mention, the tangible manifestation of one's hard-earned success.

So here, there is no doubt that cars with the prancing horse badge are high in demand.

About the reason why Ferrari started accepting cryptocurrencies, the decision came in response to requests from the market and dealers as many of its clients have invested in cryptocurrencies.

Ferrari starts accepting payment in cryptocurrencies in the U.S., with plans to extend the scheme to Europe following the requests from its wealthy customers

While Galliera did not say how many cars Ferrari expected to sell through cryptocurrencies, the company shipped more than 1,800 cars to its Americas region, which includes the U.S., in the first half of 2023 only.

By accepting cryptocurrencies, the company is surely expecting to see more buyers.

"This will help us connect to people who are not necessarily our clients but might afford a Ferrari," said Ferrari's Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera.

To do this, Ferrari has turned to one of the biggest cryptocurrency payment processors, BitPay, in order to allow transactions in Bitcoin, Ether and USDC, one of the largest so-called stablecoins.

Ferrari might use other payment processors in different regions.

"Prices will not change, no fees, no surcharges if you pay through cryptocurrencies," Galliera said.

When paying with cryptocurrencies through BitPay, the payments will be immediately turned into traditional currency on behalf of Ferrari's dealers, so they are protected from price swings.

"This was one of our main goals: avoiding, both our dealers and us, to directly handle cryptocurrencies and being shielded from their wide fluctuations," Galliera said.

BitPay ensures that the virtual currencies come from legitimate sources and not derived from criminal activity or to be used to launder the proceeds of crime or evade tax.

However, there is more than just embracing crypto owners because according to Galliera, the move also makes the company able to reduce its carbon footprint through the introduction of new software and a larger use of renewable sources.

"Our target to reach for carbon neutrality by 2030 along our whole value chain is absolutely confirmed," he said in an interview.

While some cryptocurrencies, such as the second-largest, ether, have improved their energy efficiency, bitcoin still attracts criticism for its energy-intensive mining.

Ferrari (RACE.MI) has started to accept payment in cryptocurrency for its luxury sports cars in the U.S. and will extend the scheme to Europe, its marketing and commercial chief told Reuters.

The vast majority of blue-chip companies have steered clear of crypto as the volatility of bitcoin and other tokens renders them impractical for commerce. Patchy regulation and high energy usage have also prevented the spread of crypto as a means of payment.

These include electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O), which in 2021 began to accept payment in bitcoin, the biggest crypto coin, before CEO Elon Musk halted it because of environmental concerns.