The automotive industry has always been at the forefront of technology and innovation. It is therefore no surprise that autos and auto enthusiasts are starting to look to cryptocurrencies.

The automotive industry has a constant growth rate of innovation and endless. Popularizing the internal combustion engine, turning carbon fiber into the mainstream and bringing electric vehicles into the 21st century. 

Now, auto manufacturers, auto dealers and even auto racers. They are starting to enter the blockchain market and seek innovation money from there.

Tesla becomes the leader

Tesla is not the largest car manufacturer in the world. However, it did contribute to bringing the auto sector closer to crypto this year.

Starting in March, Elon Musk made the announcement. Tesla will start accepting payments in Bitcoin.

This announcement is seen as a contributing factor to BTC’s spike in the weeks that followed.

However, this phase is short-lived. Because in May, Musk refused and stopped collaborating with crypto because of environmental concerns. 

Musk’s announcement once again hit the market. This caused the price to drop by nearly $10,000.

Musk later clarified his stance in a tweet. If miners work towards more environmentally friendly. He claims Tesla will continue to accept car payments in  – Hiveos on USB – Bitcoin. What Musk tweeted in June was as follows:

“When the rational use of clean energy (~50%) by miners is validated and gives a positive trend in the future. Tesla will continue to allow bitcoin transactions .”

Despite all the drama surrounding Tesla’s bitcoin purchases. But through the incident this time proved that. The crypto community is taking a huge interest in paying for cars with coins.

Provide crypto payments for cars

Tesla isn’t the only auto company offering crypto payments. Although it is the place that attracts the most attention.

Many other companies also offer consumers the ability to buy cars with coins on the blockchain. Some companies have been doing so for a while.

Most of them are luxury car showrooms catering to high-end customers. Others are taking a more unconventional approach.

AutoCoinCars is one of the companies that provides a solution for buyers who want to buy a car with cryptocurrency. While most large scale auto dealers do not offer crypto option. AutoCoinCars will support this.

Through a digital showroom on their website for the dealers they have partnered with. They serve as an advertising portal. 

The company also serves as a payment processor and accepts all major cryptocurrencies. AutoCoinCars then pays the dealer in the currency of their choice.

Another business taking an innovative approach to selling cars through cryptocurrency is BitCar. The company only accepts bitcoin payments and allows proportional ownership of high-end cars from supercars to luxury cruisers. 

This idea of ​​fractional ownership and leading luxury is reminiscent of another area of ​​blockchain that is being hyped, NFTs.

NFT inspired by cars

The NFT fever of 2021 is slowing down, but that doesn’t mean it will stop.

Every week we record many notable NFT sales. They come from digital artists, celebrities or professional athletes. Many of these auctions are taking place at historic places like Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Automotive enthusiasts are always looking for new ways to show their appreciation. They are also looking for new rare collectibles to add to their showcase. This makes them the perfect home for NFTs to thrive. 

One of the biggest recent milestones includes the Barrett-Jackson Auction. Four NFTs celebrate real-world cars that were sold for charity in March.

What makes these cars special is that they are all VIN 001 cars. These are Ford Mustang Mach 1, Ram 1500 TRX Launch Edition and Ford Bronco coupe 2021. 

Each of the four cars was sold. They were the first cars to roll off the production line for that model ever.

Not selling cars but selling copyrights

The NFT auction is not selling cars but selling digital rights. Winners receive digital packaging featuring an exclusive video. There are also illustrations and a trio of still images.

The auction company said that. “They are seen as part of a digital automotive celebration that celebrates the sale of a spectacular VIN 001 car.” Four NFTs sold for over $60,000 in just minutes. 

Another big name racing to enter the NFT world is the Fast and Furious series. In the seventh edition of the long-running series. A very rare Lykan HyperSport was featured in a scene that took place in Abu Dhabi. The car, along with its NFT, was sold at auction in May for $535,000. 

Hot Wheels – technically a car manufacturer. They have also announced their intention to create an NFT collection. 

They will honor some classic cars with a long history. Each NFT is unique and each sells for around $5,000. 

Crypto Brings Fans Closer 

It’s not just the cars themselves that have been transported to the blockchain. Racing too. With countless races around the world. There are almost endless opportunities for the world to automatically get the most out of cryptocurrency. 

For example, racing and crypto have teamed up as fan tokens.

Fan tokens are becoming a popular way. Thereby helping die-hard fans interact and even influence their favorite sports team.

Tokens are usually purchased through the marketplace. It provides a truly interactive experience for the buyer. 

Depends on the specific offer. Fan tokens give users access to merchandise, marketing campaigns. Even the ability to vote on team decisions in the real world.

Token holders can vote on the decision. What color helmet line a rider would wear. Or the name of a new garage purchased by the racing team.

Formula I fleets join

Some of the big names in the Formula One Season have started offering tokens to fans. Including McLaren Racing, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo.

These partnerships don’t just provide tokens for fans. Racing teams will also offer various NFT art collections. Fans can then invest in.

For example, McLaren is planning to make the most of its partnership with Tezos. They will create an NFT fan experience platform.

The platform will list digital artworks for sale. Includes works that have highlighted McLaren’s rich racing history. Those are remarkable victories and famous racers.

 

Art, digital trading cards, music, tweets and memes. They are expected to eventually find a home on this platform. 

Cryptocurrencies for car financing

Another area where crypto and the racing sector are coming together is in sponsorship deals. NASCAR recently announced that a new dogecoin-themed car will be on the track.

The car will be driven by Stefan Parsons. The 99 Doge Chevy Camaro made his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and was very famous for leading the green flag.

Dogecar is still very popular on Twitter. Despite the hype, and like the Dogecoin cryptocurrency itself . During the race, number 99 hit the wall pretty hard early on.

The market reacted quickly to this with prices falling more than 20% from last week. 

Which may come as a surprise to many fans of both dogecoin and NASCAR. Because this is not the first time a car has run with a doge ad wrap on it.

Back in 2014 with a really crazy sequence of events. A random post on Reddit urged driver Josh Wise to try a dogecoin fundraising campaign.

Somehow, Wise caught the post. And somehow, he made a trip to Talladega through a sponsored campaign.

Stefan Parsons’ father Phil Parsons was a racing driver during that time. So doge racing has become part of a family tradition for team owners.

Toward the future

To sum it up, cars and cryptocurrencies are complimenting each other. It is likely that more projects and innovations will emerge in the future.

A car can mine cryptocurrency. And there are even more ways to pay for cars with coins.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay