Ralph Lauren Debuts In-Store Crypto Payments and NFT 'Gifts' in Miami

Ralph Lauren is going crypto. 

On Tuesday, the American fashion company announced the opening of a new luxury-focused concept store in Miami’s Design District, which will accept cryptocurrency payments and serve as the focal point for a targeted push into the city’s active Web3 community. 

The store, which opens today, will offer products from the company’s Men’s Purple and Women’s Collection luxury labels, as well as one-of-a-kind handbags and other accessories exclusive to the Miami store.

Items will be available for purchase in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and other cryptocurrencies via a partnership with crypto payments service provider BitPay. This marks the first time that a Ralph Lauren store has ever accepted cryptocurrency as payment. 

The Miami storefront will serve as a focal point for Ralph Lauren’s burgeoning Web3 push, hosting “a series of innovative and immersive moments” throughout the year, per a press release. The store’s design itself also leans into a more modern and digital aesthetic, with interactive screens that let users browse the brand’s catalog and book styling appointments.

To kickstart its season of interactive customer experiences, Ralph Lauren on Tuesday also announced a multi-tiered partnership with Miami-based Web3 leisure community Poolsuite. All Poolsuite community members will soon be "gifted" a Poolsuite x Ralph Lauren NFT, which will unlock access to an exclusive in-person event. 

That event, according to a person familiar with the matter, will be one component of a three-day immersive experience at a waterfront private estate in Miami in late April. Over those three days, a number of Web3 activations will be hosted for influencers, customers, and Poolsuite x Ralph Lauren NFT holders to commemorate the Miami location’s opening.

Additional details about further immersive Ralph Lauren events have not yet been revealed, but are likely to also target Miami’s vibrant crypto community. 

Miami, long a hotbed of crypto activity, has embraced the novel technology for years. A number of dominant Web3 companies—including Yuga Labs, the $4 billion company behind dominant NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club—are based in the oceanside city. The annual Bitcoin Conference and increasingly NFT-centric Art Basel Miami Beach events are also in town.

The city previously launched a MiamiCoin crypto token in 2021, which Mayor Francis Suarez backed. MiamiCoin has since lost over 99% of its peak value, per CoinGecko, and was recently delisted from crypto exchange OKX due to low liquidity and the potential for “misconduct.”

Miami pushed further into the Web3 world last July by announcing a line of 5,000 Miami-themed Ethereum NFTs in partnership with TIME, Mastercard, and Salesforce. That series though, set to debut last December, appears to have never seen the light of day.

A month later, in the wake of the stunning collapse of crypto exchange FTX, Miami formally dismantled its most prominent crypto-themed landmark: FTX Arena, home to the Miami Heat. The NBA stadium is currently going by the name Miami-Dade Arena until another suitable sponsor is found.

Ralph Lauren’s Web3 push arrives amid an ongoing bear market and current dismal public perception of crypto and NFTs. But amid those conditions, established brands—particularly luxury lifestyle ones—have continued to line up to offer their wares to select, curated groups of high-impact customers, via NFTs and other blockchain-based tools.