Gucci Leads In Crypto Transactions

G

ucci began accepting cryptocurrency in a few stores in the United States in May of 2022. Now, about 70 percent of its full, directly operated stores accept the currency. The remaining are not expected to be left out for long.

Gucci was the first brand to accept crypto, and this week was the first brand to accept ApeCoin. With the addition of ApeCoin, Gucci clients will have a dozen options to pay for goods with digital money; the brand now accepts Bitcoin
BTC
, Bitcoin Cash
BCH
, Ether
ETH
eum, Wrapped Bitcoin
WBTC
, Litecoin
LTC
, Dogecoi
DOGE
n, Shiba Inu
SHIB
, and 5 USD-pegged stable coins (GUSD
GUSD
, USDC
USDC
, USDP, DAI
DAI
and BUSD
BUSD
). The Italian luxury brand dipped its toe in crypto with just five stores initially, but saw fit to expand quickly to attract luxury customers.

According to Stephen Pair, BitPay’s CEO, the platform was simply responding to demand. For instance, they added ApeCoin in response to strong customer demand for the well-hyped Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, a subsidiary of Yuga Labs. Bored Ape Yacht Club is much sought after by celebrities and other well-heeled individuals, and ApeCoin will be the main token used across the Ape ecosystem according to Adriane Lee of WWD.

ApeCoin holders can shop with BitPay merchants – which include premium brands and retailers as well as popular services like UberEats and DoorDash
DASH
. They just turn the tokens in for cash with a BitPay card, swap them, or simply hold them. The volatile world of crypto investments is an adventure sport unto itself and tends to be highly speculative with price values constantly changing. Bitcoin and Ethereum, for instance, are bouncing back after a major crash in June 2022. But the fascination with block-chain based currency endures.

As for Gucci, the assumption is that it has added these crypto currencies to respond to its customers. That is certainly what BitPay’s Pair is suggesting; he believes that demand must be surging among luxury consumers. But this scenario is not a given, and it is not known how many customers have actually used Bitcoin or Dogecoin. Another possibility is that Gucci’s embrace of crypto is a strategic move that will position the brand to meet future initiatives. After all, Gucci has been active in digital collectibles, avatar wearables, and NFT’s in the past. The brand has also explored partnerships with virtual worlds like Roblox and the Sandbox.

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RIPT: Gucci is the leader in accepting cryptocurrency and is taking this position with the expectation that it will attract affluent luxury customers. There is a spirit of adventure when using block chain currency and Gucci clearly wants to be at the forefront of it all together with Nike
NKE
and Tiffany. No doubt such actions by these leaders will give new ideas to the rest of the industry.