Gucci, a flagship brand of the luxury industry, is mulling a new fashion trend: incorporating cryptocurrency into payment systems in offline retail stores.  

According to the BBC, Gucci has revealed that it will accept cryptocurrency payments at five of its US stores at the end of May, with plans to expand to stores nationwide this summer.  Cryptocurrencies currently planned to be accepted include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin and five stabocoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.  

Gucci will also use an unnamed service provider to provide real-time prices for multiple cryptocurrencies to determine how much it charges customers.  And when returns do occur, Gucci plans to reimburse them with the cryptocurrency used in the purchase.  

Specifically, when the customer pays, the in-store encryption system will send a link via email, which contains a QR code, which connects to the cryptocurrency app on the customer's smartphone and makes the payment, similar to the mobile payment of credit cards.  

Gucci, owned by French conglomerate Kering, is the latest high-profile brand to announce it will accept virtual currency payments.  Other big companies that have made similar announcements include AT&T, Microsoft and Starbucks.  

To prepare for the new business, Gucci said it would provide cryptocurrency and NFT education and training to its employees ahead of the project's launch.  Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri said in a statement: "Gucci is always looking for new technologies that can enhance the experience for our customers.  "Now that we're able to integrate cryptocurrency into our payment system, it's a natural evolution for customers who want to offer them that option."  

Offering in-store encrypted payments is Gucci's latest foray into Web3.  Earlier this year, Gucci entered The meta-universe by buying virtual land in decentralized blockchain game The Sandbox for an undisclosed sum.  

It is worth mentioning that Gucci is the first fashion brand to release NFT.  Previously, the brand opened the Gucci Vault, an online concept store, and launched two NFT projects, Super Gucci and Gucci Grail, which will allow users of these two projects to pre-order Gucci's new collections before they are officially released.  Connecting NFT and Web3 technologies with real-world consumers is another big move for luxury brands.  

Not only Gucci, but other luxury retailers are also getting into cryptocurrency.  In March, Off-White, an Italian streetwear and luxury retailer, announced that its flagship stores in Paris, London and Milan had started accepting payments in bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitecoin, Ripple, as well as stabecoins such as Tether and USD.  But returns will be refunded in local currency, excluding the impact of the greater volatility in the value of cryptocurrencies.  

Fashion designer Philipp Plein's eponymous label is also planning a Store in London that will accept crypto payments as well as an NFT gallery where customers can choose to buy wearable NFT collections on digital platform Decentraland.  In February, Philipp Plein revealed that his brand had made at least one crypto transaction a day and had amassed 150 bitcoins (about $5.8 million) in revenue.  

But while introducing new trends, cryptocurrencies are still a source of concern.  On Thursday, the price of bitcoin suddenly plunged 10.78% to below $36,000.  Bitcoin has almost halved from its November high of $68,991.  A total of 105,400 people took out positions worth $462 million, including $164 million in bitcoin and $70.71 million in the Ethereum market, the data showed.  

Last year, bitcoin also became legal tender in Two countries, El Salvador and the Central African Republic.  But the INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund has urged El Salvador to reverse its decision after it said it would allow consumers to use cryptocurrencies as well as us dollars in all transactions.  

In addition, policies around the world have not relaxed regulation of the crypto market.  European regulator MONEYVAL recently named cryptocurrencies as one of the anti-money laundering threats.  Separately, Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) announced a ban on banks in the country offering cryptocurrency services to their customers.  The BCRA statement said banks are prohibited from servicing any digital assets that are not regulated by the central bank, a move that amounts to a de facto ban as digital assets are not currently regulated by the Argentine government.