Gucci Opens Door To Crypto Payments

Luxury brand Gucci will be accepting payments in cryptocurrencies like BTC and DOGE in select stores later this month. 

Buy Gucci With Crypto

The initiative to accept crypto payments in select stores is a part of the fashion house’s experiments in crypto. According to initial reports, the program will be piloted in a few specific US stores at the end of May 2022. There are further plans to expand the program to all North American stores this summer. The cryptocurrencies accepted under this program as of now are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and five stablecoins pegged to the USD. When a customer chooses to pay in crypto, they will be sent a QR code by mail, which will allow the customer to link their wallets and pay online. 

Gucci’s Crypto Experiments

Gucci’s previous experiments with crypto have all been in the gaming/metaverse space. The immersive virtual Gucci Garden experience was launched on Roblox last year and has already had 19 million visitors. The brand’s presence on Roblox has definitely worked in its favor, as a virtual Gucci purse has sold for over $4,000 on the platform, exceeding the price of the original purse. The brand, which has already assigned a specific team to focus on Web 3 projects, has also designed and created ‘skins’ for digital avatars on games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon Go. Gucci has also purchased digital land on the virtual real-estate metaverse, The Sandbox. 

Gucci’s CMO Robert Triefus had commented on the brand’s progressive expansion into the metaverse,

“We know that people are willing to pay good money for NFTs, for digital collectibles, and to have a second life in the metaverse. So the revenue potential is absolutely there. One has to understand how to curate the experience as in the physical world, and make sure that experience Is delivering what the customer would expect from the respective brand.”

Other Fashion Houses In The Race

Other luxury brands and fashion houses are also venturing into the world of cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the metaverse. For example, last year, the Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana announced the launch of its exclusive NFT collection in partnership with UNXD, a luxury digital marketplace powered by the Polygon Network. Along with Forever 21 and Gucci, the brand has also recently participated in the virtual fashion week held on the Decentraland metaverse. Louis Vuitton has also joined the crypto race by announcing its own NFT collection. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.