As bitcoin soars, luxury brands consider accepting crypto payments

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00:00Bitcoin's soaring value has caught the attention of high-end fashion brands and retailers.

00:06It's prompting moves to offer cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

00:10That would help tap into fresh pockets of wealth and build loyalty with crypto investors.

00:15Until recently, only a handful of luxury brands, including LVMH, Gucci and Balenciaga, have

00:21experimented with crypto payment offers.

00:24But in recent weeks, upscale French luxury department Store Prontemps announced it was

00:28teaming up with the world's largest crypto exchange Binance and French financial tech

00:33company Lizzy to accept cryptocurrencies.

00:36It will include Bitcoin and Ethereum in its stores in France, and will become the first

00:41European department store to do so.

00:44Luxury lighter and pen maker ST Dupont told Reuters it aims to accept cryptocurrency payments

00:50in two Paris stores before the holidays.

00:53And cruise company Virgin Voyages began this month offering its first product accepting

00:58Bitcoin as a payment option.

01:01It's for a $120,000 annual pass for up to a year of sailing on its cruise ships.

01:07Regulators have long warned that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are high-risk assets, with limited

01:12uses in the real world.

01:14High volatility has been another barrier to wide adoption as a means of payment.

01:19But support from US President-elect Donald Trump, who's expected to bring in more friendly

01:25regulation have fueled record-breaking prices for Bitcoin.

01:29It topped $107,000 earlier this week.

01:33S&P analysts say the narrative is starting to shift.

01:37It's noting that blockchain innovation in financial markets could increase predictability

01:42for cryptocurrencies.

01:45Luxury labels have long sought to cater to affluent shoppers from the tech industry.

01:49And it comes as the luxury industry faces its biggest slump in years and searches for

01:54new sources of growth.