LONDON: Major fashion house Philipp Plein has started accepting cryptocurrency, raising the prospect that other leading brands will follow suit.
As of Aug. 3, Switzerland-based Philipp Plein Group began accepting 15 different types of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin and Ethereum, at both its bricks-and-mortar stores and online, it said in a statement.
Plein expects the biggest impact to be through its digital channels, which are already its most lucrative, turning over a predicted 100 million euros this year.
“Being among the most progressive and disruptive fashion brands is nothing new for Philipp Plein,” the company’s founder said. “I believe that cryptocurrencies are the future and my team and I have made a major commitment in time and resources, performing all necessary system modifications in order to adopt this new type of currency.”
However, the reasons that make accepting cryptos attractive to Philipp Plein are the same that might make it less desirable to some of the other major fashion and luxury groups, such as LVMH and Chanel.
Plein is a controversial character in the fashion industry, and has developed a brand that sometimes seems designed to upset those who don’t adore it. His clothes are often ostentatious and are not ashamed to reflect the wealth needed to afford them.
Yet, other luxury brands have been experimenting with crypto adoption. Earlier this month, Burberry launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection in Blankos Block Party, a game designed by Mythical games.
In April, LVMH, Prada, Richemont and others announced the Aura Blockchain Consortium, a platform designed to verify the authenticity and provenance of luxury goods.
A few luxury and beauty brands, including watchmakers Hublot and Franck Muller, are accepting cryptocurrency for payment.
With cryptos mainly used for investing and trading these days, it is not clear how many transactions actually occur using these decentralized currencies. The biggest value may be in adding some cutting edge flavor to your brand, and who better than a fashion label to do that.
WHITE HAT BUG BOUNTY
Elsewhere in the cryptoscape today, Poly Network, the cryptocurrency platform that lost $610 million in a hack earlier this week, confirmed on Friday it had offered the hacker or hackers a $500,000 “bug bounty.”
In a statement, it thanked the hacker — who it dubbed a “white hat,” sector jargon for an ethical hacker who generally aims to expose cyber vulnerabilities — who had returned the bulk of the funds for “helping us improve Poly Network’s security.”
The network also said it hoped “Mr. White Hat” would contribute to the blockchain sector’s continued development upon accepting the $500,000 reward, which it had offered as part of negotiations around the return of the digital coins.
On the markets, bitcoin rebounded from yesterday’s loss, adding 4.2 percent to $46,534 as of 2:14 p.m. in London. Ethereum was 4.1 percent stronger at $3,232.
