If you are bidding this week on a vehicle crossing the block at Dana Mecum’s 34th Original Spring Classic collector car auction in Indianapolis, and if you’re is the high bid, you have the option of paying for your purchase with cryptocurrency via BitPay.
“The ability to accept cryptocurrency enables Mecum to attract new customers and sales by opening its doors to the massive crypto marketplace and welcoming in a whole new dimension to the live auction events,” Mecum Auctions said in its announcement.
“Registered bidders will now have the option to pay for their collector car purchases with cryptocurrency during the in-person auction settlement process and, perhaps more importantly, online bidders will now have the convenience of an end-to-end digital experience from the comfort of home.”
Mecum’s partner in the new payment program is BitPay, which Mecum notes is “the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services.”
“We recognize the growing acceptance of cryptocurrency for commerce and are confident that by accepting crypto for collector cars, it will widen our scope of influence and introduce the Mecum Experience to an entirely new audience,” Sam Murtaugh, Mecum’s chief operating officer, is quoted in the auction company’s announcement. “BitPay provides a powerful, streamlined process that makes crypto transactions simple for both our customers and our accounting team.”
As a result of the agreement with BitPay, Mecum will accept a variety of transaction settlement optios including “Bitcoin (BTC), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and stablecoins USD Coin (USDC), Dai (DAI), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Paxos Standard (PAX) and Binance USD (BUSD).”
“Mecum Auctions realizes the potential for crypto to revolutionize the collector car auction industry, making payments faster, more secure and less expensive on a global scale,” noted Stephen Pair, BitPay chief executive.
“Our goal at BitPay is to make accepting crypto a seamless process and to increase adoption as crypto is the future of payments, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to support Mecum in providing crypto payment solutions for car enthusiasts worldwide.”
BitPay was founded in 2011 with a mission “to transform how businesses and people send, receive, and store money.” It says its business solutions “eliminate fraud chargebacks, reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency, among other services.”
Mecum’s annual Indianapolis auction, being held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, runs through Saturday.
The REAL question is: how do they PAY their Consignor’s?