Buying cars with cryptocurrency: On 22 May 2010, a couple of Papa John’s pizzas were purchased for 10,000 Bitcoins by a man named Laszlo Hanyecz – the first-ever documented purchase of goods using this digital currency.
Those were the days when cryptocurrency was in its formative years, and one could buy a bunch of bitcoins in cents. At present, 10,000 Bitcoins are equivalent to around 550 million USD.
We are not sure whether Hanyecz regrets his decision of giving away thousands of bitcoins on mere pizzas or takes pride in being remembered as the first person to buy something out of bitcoins, but we are sure of one thing: e-commerce and cryptocurrency are all set to go hand in hand.
The fact that you have landed up here makes it obvious that we are now well ahead of the days when buying a couple of pizzas with bitcoins was considered something out of the ordinary.
At present, purchasing something as valuable as a car with cryptocurrency is the talk of the town.
Why buying cars with cryptocurrency?
Traditionally, goods have been purchased online using bank processes. Even though online purchases were mainstreamed originally to speed up the buying process, but it turns out that you still have to undergo a cumbersome course of action before finally getting your desired product.
Since cryptocurrency is decentralized and there is no involvement of middlemen, it ensures higher autonomy and faster process.
The second advantage – when you buy cars using cryptocurrency, you get the edge in terms of extra charges. With conventional credit card or debit card purchases, the amount charged per transaction is quite high. The charges are significantly minimized when you opt for exchange services to carry out a transaction using cryptocurrency.
Lastly, payments made via cryptocurrency are much safer for not just consumers but at the retailer’s end as well. According to statistics, payment frauds have tripled in magnitude during the last 9 years, from $9.84 billion in 2011 to $32.39 in 2020.
When it comes to cryptocurrency, encryptions are used to validate transactions, and the transmission of money becomes safe and secure.
With regular payment methods, the transactions can be reversed with the help of the bank; hence making them vulnerable to fraud. On the contrary, once your bitcoins leave your digital wallet, it becomes almost impossible to get them back.
Where to get sellers that accept cryptocurrency?
For starters, if you happen to have some bitcoins in your wallet, you could always tap into the online market where there are plenty of car sellers that accept cryptocurrency. However, it becomes quite a hassle to go about random google searches. So, a much better alternative is to join online communities, which narrow down things for you and increase your chances of getting a seller.
Now, there are two ways of getting a seller, out of online groups and forums, that deals in cryptocurrency. You could either join a car forum and look for referrals for private sellers that support cryptocurrency as a mode of payment, or you could even explore cryptocurrency forums and find a suitable car seller from there as well.
Having said that, it is not the highly recommended way of acquiring a potential car seller because of safety concerns.
Some scammers on the internet could capitalize on the lack of regulation and lure you into spending your money by showcasing fake details. On top of that, it isn’t easy to carry out background checks on the owner and verify car details.
So, what should be your go-to place for getting your hands on your dream car?
Authorized Dealership
A much reliable and effective option for you to turn to for car purchase is an authorized dealership. Unlike some random salesperson, a dealer is not going to vanish after the purchase. You could reach out to them in case you encounter an issue.
Buying a car with a dealer comes with other benefits as well. You could drive a bargain for freebies with your car purchase. For instance, a lot of dealerships provide free top cover, spare seat covers, floor mats. Some go the extra mile and provide free oil change and car inspection for the first few months, together with extended warranties.
It goes without saying that getting a car through an authorized dealer is the way forward, but here’s the catch: checking out every dealership separately and then filtering them further in terms of those who accept crypto can be off-putting and tedious.
How to go about this problem then?
Car Sales Portal
The good news is that there are platforms that put all the authorized car dealers that accept bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies under one umbrella. For instance, Autocoincars is a portal that allows multiple authorized dealers that entertain cryptocurrency to put up their options of both new and used cars. The buyers then easily pick their choice of car and get their payment processed from the platform as well.
The process of getting a car from a car sales portal is further simplified in the following steps:
- The buyer scans through the portal and finds the car according to their requirement
- After selection, the buyer reaches out to the dealership and confirm if they entertain crypto
- The portal is then contacted by the buyer, and the type of cryptocurrency and exchange rate is agreed upon
- The required amount is transferred to the portal to carry out the purchase, following which the car is available to be collected
With that being said, let’s be reminded that you would still have to provide your driver’s license, pay taxes, get insurance, and transfer the car to your name once you visit the dealership. But in the grand scheme of things, this much hassle is worth it, isn’t it?
The Bottom Line
Many countries have tried to ban cryptocurrencies; however, due to their decentralized nature, cryptocurrency can never be truly banned, but can only be regulated.
So, we can say with certainty that cryptocurrency is going nowhere. In fact, the market is predicted to have a compound annual growth rate of about 35% over the next 5 years.
With such numbers in sight and owing to minimized risk of frauds, the cryptocurrency is just beginning to take the world by a storm, and we are not far from the time when everything, from a pen to a mansion, would be acquired through digital currency.
Till then, we appreciate that you have put your trust in this technology and are already attempting to bring a paradigm shift in the e-commerce world.
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