The Italian high-end fashion label Gucci will start taking cryptocurrency payments in five U.S. stores by the end of the month and wants to extend the service to all 111 of its North American stores shortly.
As reported by Vogue Business, Gucci will now accept 12 cryptocurrencies as payment, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Litecoin, Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogecoin.
Payments can be made in-store using cryptocurrencies by the customers through email with a QR code for use with their digital asset wallets. The trial will start in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas stores. In preparation for the launch, employees have begun learning about crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3.
Gucci Going Crypto
This year, Gucci launched two NFT collections: the “SUPER GUCCI” collection with the toy company SUPERPLASTIC in February and the “Gucci Grail” collection with established NFT projects such as Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins, and the World of Women in March.
Aria, a 4-minute short film based on the brand’s apparel line of the same name, sold for $25,000 at an online Christie’s auction in June 2021, becoming the brand’s first-ever NFT.
In February, Gucci purchased virtual land in The Sandbox, where it is constructing a virtual retail experience that mirrors its Vault e-store to further expand into Web3.
Believe in the power of imagination, @gucci 🔮#GucciVault pic.twitter.com/NnHtF7kqk1February 9, 2022
An online concept store for “Gucci’s presence in the Metaverse,” the Gucci Vault features a hand-picked collection of rare vintage Gucci pieces chosen by the store’s Creative Director.
Fashion Houses Tapping into Crypto
Cryptocurrency and Web3 are becoming increasingly popular with high-end brands. In March, off-white, a fashion company with boutiques in Paris, Milan, and London, began taking six cryptos as payment.
Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, and Bulgari have all released NFTs in the past under the LVMH umbrella, which owns Off-White.
In January, LVMH’s premium watch brand Hublot unveiled an exclusive line of timepieces exclusive to Bitcoin. Hublot also teamed up with cold wallet service Ledger to introduce a limited-edition timepiece in February.
Auto dealerships and car manufacturers are also taking digital assets for high-end vehicles, including watch brands Franck Muller and Norgain and designer label Phillip Plein.
Equinox Group, a New York City-based luxury fitness company, began accepting cryptocurrency payments on May 3, with annual subscriptions starting at just under 1.4 ETH or $4,044!
Is Crypto Finally Becoming Mainstream?
Earlier, we reported that one of the leading private banks in Argentina started accepting cryptos on its platform for trading and transactions. According to reports earlier this month, BlackRock, one of the world’s prominent asset managers with over $10 trillion in AUM, is reportedly getting ready to enter the crypto market. BlackRock’s Aladdin trading platform will purportedly allow its institutional clients to use crypto assets as collateral for loans or trade multiple crypto assets.
Another announcement was made this month; one of the “Big Four” accounting companies, KPMG, plans to use Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies as a reserve currency for Canadian operations!
Many businesses worldwide embrace Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets for various goals, including financial investments and operational efficiency.
