Luxurious fashion heavyweight from Italy Gucci has been the pioneering top-tier name to accept payments in the form of the Bored Ape Yacht Club-affiliated ApeCoin (APE).

Specifically, details of the initiative were reportedly disclosed on August 1st and could help the ApeCoin project acquire major mainstream exposure, along with bringing further utility to the cryptocurrency.

Gucci clients in America will reportedly now have the ability to buy items in-store using APE, while the payment infrastructure will be provided by BitPay, a company that has offered assistance to different big players, nominally AMC Theaters, regarding the acceptance of crypto payments in the past.

Regardless of bearish movements throughout the crypto market, the fashion brand has reportedly adopted a serious attitude regarding its voyage into the crypto sphere in 2022.

In February, Gucci reportedly rolled out the “SUPERGUCCI” NFT collection, via a partnership with vinyl toy brand SUPERPLASTIC. In March following month, Gucci introduced the “Gucci Grail” NFT collection, catering primarily to owners of top NFT initiatives like the BAYC.

Two months later, the company continued its crypto efforts by disclosing details regarding plans to accept 12 crypto assets as payment instruments throughout 111 stores in North America. 

The list included Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), and five U.S. dollar stablecoins.

BAYC collectors appear to have displayed strong support for Gucci’s crypto initiatives so far, with pseudonymous Twitter personality NBATopShotEast claiming to be the first person to use ETH as payment for Gucci items at the brand’s Wooster Street location in New York City in July. 

Another two BAYC members claimed to be the second and third people to do so.