Is this the future of boat buying? Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Denison Yacht Sales has announced that it will accept Bitcoin, the online peer-to-peer digital currency payment system, for superyacht purchases – both new build and brokerage – and luxury yacht charter payments.
While it might sound like a PR gimmick, Denison assures that its move into accepting the online currency is customer-driven. "We've had a few clients in the past ask about ," says Bob Denison, founder and president of Denison Yacht Sales. "At the time, we weren't able to accept Bitcoin."
Denison tells Boat International that last year the company opened up a multi-currency account that enables it to safely accept deposits in more than a dozen currencies, including euros, British pounds, Australian dollars, yen, renminbi, and more. "This account allows us to offer our clients a safe place to keep deposits and avoid the headaches that accompany currency fluctuations during the period of time it takes to close a yacht, which, of course, can extend into months," says Bob Denison. "Not only did we find this a great service for buyers, but our selling clients loved that we were able to attract international clients to their boats with this account."
With its move to allow clients to buy superyachts with Bitcoin, Denison hopes to attract buyers in major tech hubs of the West Coast, where the company has three offices. "Bitcoin has been well-received by the tech community," Bob Denison told Boat International. "We want to attract these buyers along with international boaters in Europe, Russia and Asia, where Bitoin has become more and more popular."
As for the advantages to buying a yacht with Bitcoin, the major benefit is the privacy factor. Bitcoin payments can be made without divulging any personal information in the transaction, which offers complete privacy and protection from identity theft. Another bonus is the ease of use in making Bitcoin payments as the currency can be exchanged instantly anywhere in the world at any time. "No bank holidays, no borders, no imposed limits," says Bob Denison. "Bitcoin allows its users to be in full control of their money. The purchase and sale agreement can still be executed in the seller's local currency, and at the time of closing, we would be able to accept Bitcoin from the purchaser, and deliver the funds into the seller’s account in U.S. Dollars."
Bitcoin payments via Denison would be processed through BitPay, the Atlanta, Georgia-based company which is currently the world's largest Bitcoin payment services. BitPay provides services for more than 50,000 businesses and processes more than $1 million USD in payments daily, but Denison says that even a medium-sized yacht sale in Bitcoins would potentially be the largest Bitcoin transaction in history.