#FINANCIAL_LITERACY

Iconic fashion brand Gucci will begin accepting cryptocurrency in some of its U.S. locations later this month, with plans to roll out the program to other North American stores this summer.

According to Vogue Business, in-store payments will be made using a QR code that customers can scan with their crypto wallet, sent by Gucci via email. The stores will accept various digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu.

The first locations to accept crypto are 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. 

Other high-end brands—most recently, Off-White—have already begun accepting crypto.

Offering in-store crypto payments is the latest in Gucci's move into Web3. Earlier this year, Gucci entered the metaverse by purchasing virtual land in the decentralized blockchain game The Sandbox for an undisclosed amount; it's building a virtual "Gucci Vault" for Gucci-themed NFTs.

Gucci is just one of the big names in fashion and apparel entering Web3 looking to stake a claim in the digital world. Joining Gucci in this new reality are clothing lines Dolce & Gabbana, Adidas, Nike, Vans, and Balenciaga. These brands will also be competing against crypto-native fashion houses like Digitalax, Blanksoles, DRESSX, and Red DAO, which have a head start building online communities around their brands.

To prepare for this new venture, Gucci says it will provide cryptocurrency and NFT education and training to its staff before the program's launch.

"Gucci is always looking to embrace new technologies when they can provide an enhanced experience for our customers," Marco Bizzarri, Gucci's president and CEO, tells Vogue Business. "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."