- UK dealership will now accept crypto payments
- BitPay payments backed in London and Kent
BitPay, the largest Bitcoin-based cross-border payments processor in the world, is now an accepted means of paying for new BMW cars after Stephen James BMW, a premier authorised dealer for the German auto manufacturing giant based in London and Kent, announced the development on Twitter.
The move is far from a gimmick and makes shrewd business sense. While Bitcoin investors and speculators aren’t known for splashing out their crypto holdings on goods and services, expensive luxuries like top of the market cars are an exception to the rule. And Stephen James isn’t alone, several other car dealerships have been accepting Bitcoin for new vehicle purchases in recent times. It is, however, perhaps the most prestigious.
Although it has gained traction over the years, it remains somewhat of an uphill struggle to persuade canny consumers and investors to spend Bitcoin. The chief problem is the notorious volatility of cryptocurrencies, which sees them fluctuate in value substantially every single day. That characteristic tends to make investors cautious; they rarely think it’s a good day to spend their holdings. However, niche markets are the exception, and are attracting Bitcoin users in large numbers.
For some investors and holders, there’s just no sweat involved in using Bitcoin to pay for luxury items. And luxury goods vendors have been quick to spot the tendency by introducing Bitcoin as a payment option both online and in their brick-and-mortar stores. Higher-end jewellers, for instance, are embracing the crypto as a money transfers option, as are vendors for luxury cars. All that’s needed is the required Bitcoin (BTC) balance.
In the car market, cryptocurrency holders have been drawn to one brand in particular: Lamborghini, which is widely regarded by aspiring altcoin aficionados as a status symbol. Growing numbers of up-and-coming crypto speculators and investors have their eye on the prospect of striking it rich one day – and on that day, one of their first decisions will be to buy a Lamborghini. While few have reached that ultra-successful ‘jackpot’ moment to date, there’s plenty of potential in the altcoin market for big profits to come.
However, not everyone wants to go full throttle with a Lamborghini. For many, a new BMW would do the trick.
Stephen James is breaking new ground in the UK by partnering with BitPay. Other car vendors who accept cryptos have almost exclusively been based in the US, with the rest of the world lagging behind to some extent.
Using BitPay makes sense. As noted earlier, it’s the world’s largest and most established Bitcoin remittance processor on the planet and has recently added support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) transactions. It remains to be seen whether Stephen James will accept the latter as well as BTC, but it’s not a pressing priority for the firm at this stage.
So, another use case for Bitcoin and BitPay has been brought to the market. Whether this will help reduce the currency’s volatility is a moot point. But the experts agree that the more cryptos are adopted, the less they’ll fluctuate.
If you’d like to read more about BitPay, try reading this article.
