In the years after the pandemic, the fashion industry fell into a frenzy of investment into new technologies, including NFTs, cryptocurrencies and the metaverse. While some of those — NFTs, namely — ended up being a flash in the pan, cryptocurrency and its adoption among fashion brands has remained a small but present part of the industry. Brands including Balenciaga, Tag Heuer and Nike currently accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
But President-elect Donald Trump has promised to be “the most pro-crypto president” to date and to create a Bitcoin stockpile for the U.S. Powerful crypto lobbies like the Stand With Crypto Alliance funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American politics this year, leading to victories for both Trump and a slew of pro-crypto politicians across the country. With the crypto-friendly Republican Party expected to take control of the House, the Senate and the presidency, crypto companies are ascendant and the chance of further regulation of the volatile young sector seems unlikely.
What will this mean for fashion? Some fashion brands, especially ones that are “crypto-native” like the blockchain brand 9dcc, are predicting a rise in the adoption of cryptocurrency among consumers. In the last week alone, the French department store Printemps announced that it would begin accepting cryptocurrency as payment in 20 of its branches. Fashion brands including Gucci, Hublot, Pacsun and Farfetch all began accepting crypto payments in the last two years and still do to this day.
The U.S. is among the countries with the most crypto users, alongside countries in South Asia like India and Indonesia, with 40% of American adults owning some amount of crypto. That’s up from 30% a year ago. After Trump’s victory, Bitcoin prices surged to a record $95,000.
“The Trump administration cozying up to cryptocurrency might just be the jolt the crypto industry needs,” said Matthew Ruley, director of content at the crypto blog Dypto Crypto. “We’re potentially looking at a world where regulations are relaxed and crypto finally sees mainstream adoption. Blockchain tech is already being used, but this could push it to everyday use in more sectors, kind of like what happened with AI. This could lead to a wave of innovation, attracting more investors and potentially stabilizing the market, at least to a degree.”
Trump accepted donations to his campaign from supporters in various cryptocurrencies, and his social platform Truth Social is reportedly exploring the launch of its own cryptocurrency payment platform called TruthFi. Trump has been friendly with the extended web3 universe for years, beginning with his controversial NFT drop last year. His vice president, JD Vance, is also a crypto booster and Silicon Valley veteran.
Most notably, this week, Trump named Scott Bessant, a hedge fund investor who is famously pro-crypto, as the new Secretary of the Treasury. Bessant will be a marked change from the current Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. In 2022, after a series of crypto platforms collapsed and took millions of dollars from their users with them, Yellen advocated heavily for crypto regulations to prevent future catastrophes. Gary Gensler, the head of the SEC and another public figure who has been vocal about the dangers that come with cryptocurrency, is stepping down in January, though his successor has yet to be named.
“The recent failure of a major cryptocurrency exchange and the unfortunate impact that has resulted for holders and investors of crypto assets demonstrate the need for more effective oversight of cryptocurrency markets,” Yellen said in 2022.
