You probably already know that you can use cryptocurrency as your ecommerse payment or online payment in general. You can also use crypto as a payment method in a growing number of physical locations too, to buy a coffee, for example. But you can also purchase bigger things with cryptocurrency, even buying a house with digital assets is possible. Considering this, you may be wondering then “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?”. Yes, you can. Here we’ll tell you what are the ways to buy a car with cryptocurrency, what are the pros and cons of using digital money for this purchase, and some additional things, related to cars and crypto.
How Is It Possible to Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency?
The first cryptocurrency Bitcoin is now almost 13 years old. It may have taken some time for people and companies to take it seriously, but its price has grown and so have the use cases. As the years passed, cryptocurrencies managed to establish themselves as profitable investments and a good payment alternative to fiat currencies.
That’s why today the answer to the question “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” is “yes”.
You can buy a car legally with cryptocurrency. To save you some research time, we’ve gathered the basics you need to know before you decide if you will buy your new car with crypto.
How Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency?
Now that you know that you can buy a car with cryptocurrency, comes the time to answer your questions “How can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” and “Where can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?”. Let’s look at the specifics.
What Cryptocurrencies You Can Use to Buy a Car
You can buy a car with cryptocurrency in several ways. However, the first thing you need to do is to acquire cryptocurrencies.
The first crypto, Bitcoin, also remains the most popular today.
That’s why if a car seller is willing to accept some cryptocurrency, it’s most likely going to be Bitcoin. Another cryptocurrency you can use to buy a car is Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency. Ether is almost as popular as Bitcoin so it’s a good chance you’ll be able to find a car to purchase with this cryptocurrency. Other altcoins may be possible to use too, you can find out after researching the place where you want to buy the car from with crypto.
Another type of cryptocurrency that is very likely to be used for buying and selling cars is stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies with a price pegged to fiat currencies or other commodities, hence the word “stable” in their names, in comparison to other cryptocurrencies. The fact that they’re stabilized by less volatile assets has made many merchants willing to accept stablecoins. That’s why they’re a possible payment option to purchase a car with too.
Ways to Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency
There are two main ways you can buy a car with cryptocurrency – to convert your crypto into cash and to find a dealer that accepts crypto transactions. Here’s how both processes work.
How Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency if the Dealer Doesn’t Accept Crypto?
If your savings are in cryptocurrency and there’s a car you want to buy but the seller doesn’t accept crypto, don’t worry. You can do it the old-fashioned way, by paying in fiat.
Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency converted to fiat explained:
- Find a car you want to buy
- Convert your crypto into fiat currency – Talk to the seller and agree on the fiat currency they accept before converting your crypto. You need to beware that the process of converting your crypto into fiat money will involve high taxes. Another issue may be if the sum you want to cash out is too big. This may be risky for you if you’re using an unregulated crypto exchange.
- Transfer your money to the seller’s account
- You now have a car bought using your cryptocurrency!
The advantage of this way of buying a car with cryptocurrency is that you’ll be able to do it at many places since fiat is the standard way of payment for those purchases.
How Can I Buy a Car Directly With Cryptocurrency?
Since crypto is becoming so widely adopted, you can now buy a car by directly paying with cryptocurrency. Car dealers that accept cryptocurrencies as payment are increasing and even some that specialize in that have emerged.
Here are the steps to can I buy a car with cryptocurrency directly:
- Find a dealer who accepts cryptocurrencies as a payment
- Select the car you like from the ones they offer
- Transfer the money directly to the dealer’s wallet address – Most dealers work with specialized software or payment apps that will facilitate the transactions.
- You’ve bought your car directly with cryptocurrency!
What to look for in this way of buying a car with crypto is that cryptocurrencies are taxed differently than fiat money in many countries and the deal may be structured differently too.
Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency – The Pros & Cons to Buy a Car With Crypto
Knowing the ways to buy a car with crypto, there are several advantages and disadvantages to it that you should consider. We’ll take a look at why you should or shouldn’t pay for your new car directly with cryptocurrency.
Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency: Pros
✔️ Transactions are secured, confidential, and cost less if you don’t convert the crypto into fiat and choose an exchange that taxes you less for them
✔️ You can avoid additional bank fees if you choose to transfer the money directly to the seller’s wallet
✔️ Paying with cryptocurrencies makes the purchase more accessible, you can do it from your home, without going to banks, for example. However, if you decide to do so, always be careful when sending big sums of money
Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency: Cons
❌ Cryptocurrency still isn’t a popular way of car payment so it’s possible to be difficult to find a dealer or seller who accepts it
❌ Your cryptocurrency may not be the type the car seller accepts. In this instance, you may again have to convert to fiat and buy the accepted assets or use your crypto to purchase them at a decentralized exchange
❌ Cryptocurrencies are volatile, it’s possible to overpay for a vehicle with crypto if its price decreases
What Car Companies Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency At?
Besides car dealers that accept crypto to buy a car, some popular companies also accept coins for their vehicles. The German brand BMW is one of them. You can not only pay in cryptocurrency for your BMW car, the company is keen on adopting the blockchain mechanism, that cryptocurrencies popularized, in their vehicles too, using it to help drivers in the future.
Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency at Tesla?
The question “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” became very hot at the beginning of 2021 when Elon Musk, the founder of one of the most popular automotive companies Tesla, declared that the company has holdings in bitcoins and will start accepting the crypto as payment for its vehicles. Investors’ happiness lasted shortly, as the community and Musk himself expressed concerns about Bitcoin’s sustainability, and removed the crypto as a payment option for the cars a few months later.
Although it’s been said that Tesla may eventually start accepting bitcoins again, currently the answer to the question “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency at Tesla?” is “no”. But you can still use crypto at the company. Under Elon Musk’s crypto influence, at the end of 2021 Tesla started accepting the meme crypto Dogecoin for merchandise payment.
Other Ways to Get a Car With Crypto Besides Buying
You now know that yes, you can buy a car with cryptocurrency. But if you can’t afford the purchase of a car or aren’t sure about using crypto for it yet, there are other ways to get a car, using digital coins. The two ways to get a car using cryptocurrency, besides buying it, are to rent a car or to get a car lease.
Some rental services now accept cryptocurrency as payment. You can also pay for a car lease in crypto – meaning you can get a newer vehicle for an agreed length of time, up to a few years, and after the period is over, you hand the car back. You can also pay for this service in crypto at the dealers that accept it.
Can I Sell My Car With Crypto?
If the answer to the question “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” is yes, then it’s natural you’re wondering “Can I sell my car with cryptocurrency?” too. This option is possible as well –
You can use cryptocurrency to sell your car.
However, be careful when conducting the crypto transactions. There have been crypto scams, related to selling cars reported. Sellers have reported that buyers contact them, even before seeing the car for sale, to ask for their wallet address. While nobody can steal your cryptos just by knowing your wallet address, people could use it to try to locate you and blackmail you. It sounds like an unlikely scheme, but you should always be careful when handling your digital assets.
Cryptocurrency and the Automotive Industry
Having answered your question “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?”, we’ll take a moment to discuss how else can cryptocurrency interact with the automotive industry. A way that the blockchain industry can work together with car manufacturers, is through NFTs. NFTs, short for non-fungible tokens, are based on blockchain, where the copyright of the asset is recorded, meaning you can track them, and get paid for buying or owning them. NFTs are a very popular way of selling digital art today. However, they also have real-life utility.
The craze for the non-fungible tokens began in 2021 and continues months later. Car manufacturing companies seem to jump on the wagon too. As the website Tokenized points out, NFTs can be used in the automotive industry for a few instances:
- Releasing NFT artwork, featuring the car branding
- NFT video of a racing event, featuring the cars of the brand
- NFT as a proof of ownership of the car
- NFT as a place where the records and service history of the car are held
- NFT as the key for the car
Big companies like Lamborghini, Nissan, and Alfa Romeo Tonale already have used NFTs in some of those ways. The embracement of blockchain technology by big car companies means more adoption of cryptos as a whole in this industry. Maybe pretty soon you won’t be wondering “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” but will be overwhelmed by a big choice of places and merchants where you can do it.
Can I Buy a Car With Cryptocurrency and Should I Do It in 2022?
If you asked a crypto skeptic “Can I buy a car with cryptocurrency?” a few years back, they’d laugh at you and tell you digital assets are good for nothing. However, today cryptocurrencies gained so much popularity that are indeed a possible way to pay for your new vehicle. You can choose to convert your crypto to fiat currency or pay directly with it to the seller, but the most important thing is that you can totally use your coins to buy a car. There are advantages and disadvantages to this payment option, as well as any other, so consider them before you buy a car with crypto and make an informed decision.
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