Off-White™ now accepts cryptocurrency payments in its London, Paris, and Milan flagship stores, cementing the brand as one of the first luxury labels to exchange physical fashion for digital currency.
"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," a statement from Off-White™ reads.
The brand will accept cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and Ripple (XRP), as well as stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Upon passing an automated fraud check, customers will be able to shop with no payment limit on cryptocurrency transactions.
Refunds for items purchased using cryptocurrency will be issued in store credit via local currency.
Off-White™ stores will process crypto transactions using the LUNU point of sale terminal, which automatically finds the best crypto-to-currency exchange rate, thereby minimizing any potential losses.
Prior to his death last November, Off-White™ founder Virgil Abloh was reportedly working on a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), "SKYSCRAPER," a digital space that would sell NFTs and physical works by contemporary artists.
Given Abloh's prescient embrace of decentralization, Web 3.0, and NFTs, it's not entirely surprising that his brand would become an early adopter of crypto payments.
But mere months ago, Bernard Arnault of LVMH, Off-White™'s parent company, seemed to disparage the metaverse and blockchain. "We’re not interested in selling virtual sneakers for 10 euros," he said.
Accepting crypto as payment certainly doesn't equate to "selling virtual sneakers for 10 euros," but who knows — perhaps Off-White™ has managed to sway Arnault on matters of the metaverse.
