Quebec-based auto dealer HGregoire now accepting Bitcoin when buying a car

A multinational auto dealer chain based in Quebec is now taking Bitcoin, letting buyers pay for their vehicles using a popular new form of digital tender. HGregoire is one of the first automotive chains in the world to allow buyers to buy their cars using digital money.

“Our desire to constantly evolve and improve our customers’ shopping experience inspires us to make bold decisions. Providing them with a greater variety of payment methods is part of it,” explains HGreg president, John Hairabedian. “We’re pleased today to be at the forefront of technology, giving our customers another payment option.”

The dealer group owns 30 stores in Canada and the U.S. including new vehicle franchises as well as large used vehicle lots, and they can now accept the virtual currency Bitcoin. HGregoire, also called HGreg, already offers an online buying experience, letting buyers complete the car shopping process over the internet. The chain operates with a commission-free sales staff and no-haggle pricing, in addition to the online buying option, all of which help sets the group apart from many other dealers as being tech-friendly.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning that it’s entirely digital with virtual coins created using a computing process called mining. There are now dozens of cryptocurrencies in addition to Bitcoin, all with wildly fluctuating valuations when compared with conventional currency. The coins were largely unknown from 2009 until 2017 when the value of a Bitcoin boomed to more than $25,000 before quickly falling away. Today one Bitcoin is valued at $65,000, though the coins can be traded in small fractions of a coin. We’ll also note that the value of a single coin has fluctuated more than $5,000 just today.

HGreg is currently only accepting Bitcoin, using well-established Bitcoin payment processor BitPay. As far as other forms of cryptocurrency, a spokesperson for HGreg said that, “we will be working on this in the future.”

Most recently, Tesla made Bitcoin waves when CEO Elon Musk announced that the electric automaker would soon accept Bitcoin payments, and that the company had purchased US $1.5 billion in the currency as an investment. Musk also promotes other cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin through his Twitter Account. HGreg says that it has already completed some crypto transactions to test the process and help make it easier for customers.