Gucci to Accept Crypto in Select U.S. Flagship Stores
With an expansion planned for all of its retail stores in North America
Gucci has announced that it will accept cryptocurrency payments in five of its U.S. stores beginning later this month and extend the pilot program to all of its directly-manged retail stores in North America this summer. According to Vogue Business, the first Gucci stores which will accept crypto for payment via an email-sent QR code are its locations at Wooster Street in New York, Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Miami Design District, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, and The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas.
The luxury brand will accept a variety of cryptocurrencies — mostly stablecoins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, five coins pegged to the US dollar, and two “memecoins” including Shiba Inu and Dogecoin.
“Gucci is always looking to embrace new technologies when they can provide an enhanced experience for our customers,” said Gucci’s president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri, in a statement. “Now that we are able to integrate cryptocurrencies within our payment system, it is a natural evolution for those customers who would like to have this option available to them.”
While similar announcements have been made by brands such as Off-White™ and Philipp Plein, Gucci is undoubtedly the largest and most recognizable luxury brand to accept cryptocurrency payments at its retail locations, which is sure to send ripples in the industry. As one of the first major luxury brands to introduce its own NFT collection and enter The Sandbox metaverse, Gucci’s latest move furthers its track record of being an early adopter of Web3 technologies.
Elsewhere, Palace launches an Apple iOS app.
