Luxury Label Off-White Embraces Crypto Payments

Luxury label Off-White has begun accepting bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin and Ripple cryptocurrency payments at its stores in London, Paris and Milan, Vogue Business reported Monday (April 4).

In addition, customers will also be able to use stablecoins Tether and USD Coin to purchase Off-White products, with no payment limit following a fraud check, according to the report.

“This is another important step in the growth of the brand, that looks toward the future including Web3 technologies, understanding the needs and desires of its ever-evolving customer base,” the company said in a statement.

With this announcement, Off-White joins several clothing brands moving into the crypto space. Last month, Reebok owner Authentic Brands said it added non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency payments in an effort to bolster the sneaker company following its $2.5 billion purchase.

Read more: Authentic Brands Wants to Offer Reebok NFTs, Crypto Payments

The Vogue Business report argued the move is part of an ongoing effort by Off-White to continue founder Virgil Abloh’s embrace of youth culture, with the company streaming its Autumn/Winter 2022 show on TikTok.

The report also noted the risk of crypto transactions for brands that don’t keep on top of exchange rates. To address this, Off-White said it is using a LUNU point-of-sale (POS) terminal that finds the best currency-to-crypto exchange rate at the time of sale. Refunds on items purchased with cryptocurrency will be issued solely with store credit and in the local currency.

Last year, French multinational LVMH purchased a majority stake in Off-White. And while that company has employed blockchain technology to authenticate its products, the company’s CEO sounded a cautious note about the metaverse earlier this year.

See more: LVMH Chief ‘Wary’ of Metaverse Bubbles but Sees Virtual Worlds as ‘Thought-Provoking’

Bernard Arnault said at an investor meeting that he sees the metaverse as a potential opportunity for LVMH but added “we … have to be wary of bubbles. We are very much in a down-to-earth world. We want real product selling for real … we are not interested in selling a pair of virtual sneakers for 10 euros.”