- Luxury watchmaker Hublot is accepting bitcoin as payment for a limited-edition watch collection.
- Hublot partnered with BitPay to accept bitcoin with its U.S. eBoutique and will continue to accept bitcoin through this outlet.
- Other luxury brands, such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Tag Heuer also accept bitcoin.
Swiss-based luxury watchmaker Hublot is now accepting bitcoin as payment, beginning with a limited-edition release of the Big Bang Unico collection of 200 pieces, per an announcement from the company.
While the release begins with this limited-edition collection, the addition of bitcoin to the platform will not be going away for the United States eBoutique. The company partnered with BitPay to bring the functionality to this limited release, but its partnership will continue.
In order to secure one of the watches from this collection, customers will be paying around $21,800 or, slightly more than the current price of 1 BTC. The Big Bang collection is Hublot’s flagship design and the Unico limited-offering is made from titanium.
Yet, Hublot is not the only luxury brand co-opting the bitcoin ecosystem. In fact, fashion retailers Gucci, Farfetch, and Balenciaga all previously announced limited trials for, or complete acceptance of bitcoin as payment. Similarly, luxury jewelry reseller SFLMaven, as well as the Continental Diamond jewelry store also announced they would begin accepting bitcoin.
On the same note, Hublot isn’t even the only Swiss-based luxury watchmaker to begin accepting bitcoin. On May 19, Tag Heuer announced it would also begin accepting the digital currency for its online platform.
BitPay and other cryptocurrency infrastructure providers continue to allow businesses like the aforementioned luxury brands to attract an entirely new customer base through the use of bitcoin. The assistance provided to these businesses allows them to participate in the bitcoin ecosystem without requiring technical know-how.