Dive Brief:
- Deepening its connection to the crypto economy, Gucci is accepting ApeCoin and Euro Coin as a form of payment via cryptocurrency processor BitPay, the brand announced via email to Retail Dive. The luxury retailer is the first merchant to start accepting ApeCoin as payment through BitPay.
- BitPay has begun supporting ApeCoin and Euro Coin, enabling shoppers to buy, hold, trade and spend the two digital currencies from their crypto wallets. The platform currently supports 13 other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Shiba Inu.
- Gucci currently accepts 10 different cryptocurrencies at 70% of its own locations in the U.S., and it plans to roll out cryptocurrency acceptance at its remaining stores “by the first week of August,” according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
The adoption of ApeCoin — the token for the Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens collection — comes as brands dive further into cryptocurrency and NFTs. In addition to Gucci, Balenciaga, PacSun, Tag Heuer and Alo Yoga have each begun accepting cryptocurrencies.
“We added ApeCoin and Euro Coin because customers of our luxury merchant partners asked for it,” Stephen Pair, BitPay CEO, said in a statement. “They asked, and we delivered.”
Whether retailers’ experiments with the cryptocurrency industry will yield long-term gains remains to be seen. Brands and retailers like Tiffany, Lowe’s and American Eagle have also introduced NFT collections. But while GameStop in May announced the beta launch of its digital wallet for cryptocurrencies and NFTs, Ars Technica reported that the retailer’s NFT trading volume showed signs of slowing down.
And as Gucci and other brands begin accepting cryptocurrency for payments, research indicates