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Off-White, the Italian modish luxury label by Virgil Abloh, is now accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. The facility, however, is only available in its London, Paris, and Milan flagship stores. Taking a bang-up-to-date move, Off-White comes on the list of a few top brands that exchange their products for digital currencies.
Buying luxury fashion wear in exchange for cryptocurrency may not be preferred by some customers due to the plummeting value of virtual coins and the anticipation of an upcoming bull run in the cryptocurrency market. Some, on the other hand, may find it prudent to exchange their coins for fashion.
Off-White’s crypto payment acceptance a step towards futuristic evolution
The brand’s aficionados can now bring their favorite Off-White products home in exchange for some cryptocurrencies. Aside from stable coins like USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT), the brand is accepting popular and lesser volatile coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and Ripple (XRP) in payment. With a fraud check mechanism in line, no transactional upper ceiling has been announced by the label.
Due to the highly volatile nature of crypto assets, refunds will be done exclusively via store credit, in local currency. For the newly announced crypto transaction, Off-White will use the LUNU POS terminal to fetch the highest exchange rate.
Citing the need of the hour, the brand’s statement reads,
“This is another important step in the growth of the brand that looks towards the future including Web 3.0 technologies, understanding the needs and desires of its ever evolving customer base.”
To keep up the legacy of style and innovation started by the late Abloh, the new team is pulling out all the stops. Aside from announcing the cryptocurrency payment facility, Off-White will allow users to gaze upon its Autumn/Winter 22 collection designed by Virgil Abloh through the new TikTok live stream feature. Such measures taken by the management are leading to an up-tick of the label's popularity among GenZ.
Before his death, Virgil was working on a Decentralized Autonomous Organization called SKYSCRAPER to sell NFTs as well as physical art by contemporary artists. His fondness for virtual assets like NFTs and Web 3.0 was no secret. LVMH, the majority stakeholder in the streetwear fashion label, has always been unwelcoming of these virtual things. Not long ago, Bernard Arnault played down the Metaverse and NFT.
Other brand’s take on cryptocurrencies
Other luxury brands like Hublot have been accepting cryptocurrency since February 2022. Philipp Plein, an Italian luxury streetwear label, also emerged as a pioneer in accepting crypto payments since August of last year.
From brands’ perspective, accepting non-fiat virtual coins is in-line with the growing popularity of decentralization and blockchain. Apart from making waves to attract millennials and GenZ, brands also take such steps with speculative motives in mind. The move is risky as companies have suffered huge losses in the past due to the bloodbath in the crypto market.
