First major brand to accept ApeCoin (APE) payments is Italian fashion giant Gucci.
In addition to bringing ApeCoin much-needed mainstream exposure, the move could provide further utility to the barely five-month-old cryptocurrency.
The move by Gucci comes despite the ongoing crypto bear market, where all major crypto coins like bitcoin, Ethereum, dogecoin, etc. have fallen sharply.
However, this is not Gucci's first venture into crypto and NFT.
Gucci launched its "SuperGucci" NFT collection in collaboration with vinyl toy brand Superplastic in February 2022.
Next month, Gucci unveiled its "Gucci Grail" NFT collection for owners of top NFT projects such as the BAYC.
Currently, Gucci accepts ApeCoin in US stores, and plans to expand that to other North American stores in the future.
The price of apecoin has risen from nearly $6 on August 2 to $7.4 on August 9.