KEY POINTS

  • 1989 Ferrari 640 driven by Nigel Mansell has been sold using HDO
  • The car had belonged to Mansell's private collection since 1989
  • The purchase was equivalent to 3.6 million euros

The iconic 1989 Ferrari 640, a Formula One racing car driven by Nigel Mansell for Scuderia Ferrari in the 1989 F1 season, has been sold using a stablecoin listed on the Himalaya Exchange, the Himalaya Dollar (HDO). The car belonged to Mansell's personal collection.

Classic car auction house RM Sotheby's said in a statement that the purchase was equivalent to 3.6 million euros and the buyer and the seller wished to remain anonymous.

"HDO has gained the trust of RM Sotheby's. The exchange of HDO into the relevant currency was seamless. The executives and staff at the Himalaya Exchange acted with the utmost professionalism," Bryon Madsen, president and chief strategy officer of RM Sotheby's, said in the statement.

Separately, General Motors' Chevrolet, popularly known as 'Chevy,' is also entering the crypto industry with the launch of an NFT. According to The Verge, Chevy announced plans to auction off a Corvette-themed NFT but, interestingly, the person who wins the bid will also get the actual car. The NFT was created by Nick Sullo, who goes by the handle xsullo online. Furthermore, the Corvette’s VIN number will be in binary (i.e. 0s and 1s) since the computers process data in binary code. The auction will take place between June 20 and June 24 and will be supervised by NFT marketplace SuperRare.

As mentioned above, the 1989 Ferrari 640 belonged to Mansell's private collection since 1989 and allegedly hasn't been driven since its last Grand Prix race.

It was this car that earned the Italian race team 3rd in the 1989 World Constructors' Championship and Mansell also won the Brazilian and Hungarian Grand Prix using the same car. Interestingly, this is the first Ferrari F1 car equipped with a semi-automatic gearbox.

A similar transaction completed in March 2022 by McLaren was also done via the Himalaya Exchange.

"I am extremely pleased that the buyer decided to purchase this world-class car using HDO. Despite the cryptocurrency market's recent dip, HDO has constantly remained stable with the US Dollar 1:1 without fluctuation. Impressively, this makes HDO the only stablecoin in the world to maintain 100% during this time period of uncertainty," said William Je, Founder of the Himalaya Exchange.

Ferrari has issued a recall plan with Chinese regulators over potential brake problems, affecting more than 2,200 vehicles
Ferrari has issued a recall plan with Chinese regulators over potential brake problems, affecting more than 2,200 vehicles AFP / Giuseppe CACACE
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