Surging bitcoin value prompts luxury fashion brands to accept cryptocurrency payments

Pledges of support from US President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to bring in more friendly e-currency regulation, have fueled record-breaking rises for bitcoin

This photograph taken on September 24, 2020 shows a physical imitation of a Bitcoin at a crypto currency "Bitcoin Change" shop, near Grand Bazaar, in Istanbul. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Bitcoin’s soaring value has caught the attention of high-end fashion brands and retailers, prompting further interest in offering cryptocurrencies as a means of payment to tap in to fresh pockets of wealth and build loyalty with crypto investors.

Until recently, only a handful of luxury brands, including watch labels Hublot and Tag Heuer as well as fashion brands Gucci and Balenciaga, have experimented with crypto payment offers.