- Gucci is now the first major retail to accept payments through ApeCoin
- ApeCoin is among the 12 other cryptocurrencies accepted by Gucci as payments
- Apecoin is up by 15.9% since the announcement
In a bid to explore the Web3 ecosystem, on 2nd August 2022, Gucci made it public that its customers can now make payments with ApeCoin in selected U.S in-stores.
The customers will pay through BitPay, which will provide the payment infrastructure.
Gucci’s move will drive traffic and also increase utility to the cryptocurrency, ApeCoin (APE).
Gucci actively exploring Web3
In February 2022, the high-end Italian fashion giant launched the SUPERGUCCI NFT collection. The NFT collection came as a result of Gucci partnering with the vinyl toy brand, SUPERPLASTIC.
Later on, in March 2022, Gucci once again launched the Gucci Grail NFT. Gucci Grail specifically targeted the major NFT projects such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
In May again, the fashion brand announced its plans on accepting payments in 12 different cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrencies included Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin and five other US dollar stablecoins. These crypto payments are available across 111 stores in North America.
Gucci also sold a virtual purse on Roblox. The purse went for more than $4000, which was way higher than the price of a physical purse.
Gucci joins other luxury brands with similar moves such as Balenciaga, Off-white, Philip Plein, and Farfetch which also started accepting payments through cryptocurrencies.
Gucci’s embrace of Apecoin comes just two days after Tiffany & CO, a jewelry brand, launched an NFT related to CryptoPunks. Also one of Yuga Labs’ projects.
ApeCoin prices plunge
ApeCoin is an ERC-20 governance and utility token, a project inspired by Yuga Labs Bored Ape Yacht Club. The token is used in the APE Ecosystem to license and incentivize a decentralized community.
The launching of the digital token took place in March 2022, in an effort to drive metaverse-related applications built around Yuga Labs’ BAYC.
Through its Twitter page, ApeCoin shared the same news. The price of the BAYC token, ApeCoin has taken a hit since the crypto winter, especially after Gucci embraced it. According to CoinGecko the token plunged by 16.9% to $7.38 at press time.
