Shalini Nagarajan

French luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton launched a limited edition NFT collection, with each piece in the “Treasure Trunk” collection priced at €39,000 ($41,693). The collection offers select customers an exclusive opportunity to unlock forthcoming products and experiences.



Louis Vuitton&#8217;s NFT launch, called &#8220;Via,&#8221; aims to offer an exclusive gateway to unique products and experiences unavailable to anyone else, according to a <a href="https://press.louisvuitton.com/corporate/louis-vuitton-embraces-the-legacy-of-its-future-through-via-a-first-of-its-kind-trunk/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> released on Tuesday.



In the world of branded NFT projects, it&#8217;s now a popular trend to make hard-to-get and pricey NFTs the ultimate keys to unlock a bunch of cool stuff and unique experiences, both in the real world and online.



Starting June 8, customers in the US, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia can join a waitlist on a dedicated website to purchase the Louis Vuitton trunks through the Via project.&nbsp;



After connecting their crypto wallets and providing personal details, selected registrants will have the opportunity to explore Via on a private webpage from June 14. From June 16, they can purchase their Via Treasure Trunk using crypto or fiat currency. Participants will soon after receive a specially crafted physical replica of their trunk.



These trunks, available for over 160 years, can be quite pricey, costing tens of thousands of dollars.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="Louis Vuitton Web3 NFT" class="wp-image-58168" width="840" height="472" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Louis-Vuitton-Web3-nft.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: Louis Vuitton</figcaption></figure></div>


Louis Vuitton has some strict rules in place to prohibit holders from selling or transferring the Via trunks. Holders can&#8217;t sell or give it to someone else, unlike many other exclusive communities.&nbsp;



They’re calling it a &#8220;soul-bound collectible&#8221; as it uses non-transferrable NFTs — often called <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-is-decentralized-identity">soulbound tokens</a> —&nbsp;to encourage loyalty and prevent quick reselling. Also, once you buy a Treasure Trunk, you can&#8217;t return it, except in EU countries where, by law, you can change your mind within 14 days of ordering.



Louis Vuitton&#8217;s latest NFT project is a big change from its previous one, called <a href="https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1598316526720806912" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Louis The Game</a>, which aimed to educate players about the brand&#8217;s history through interactive gameplay.



Last year, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault suggested that using technologies like NFTs with high-value items <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bernard-arnault-owns-nfts">could be beneficial</a> for the brand. He said he recognized the positive impact of well-executed applications of the metaverse and NFTs, and indicated that the brand&#8217;s focus is on maintaining exclusivity and value in their NFT offerings.



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Louis Vuitton Selling $41K NFTs That Can’t Be Resold

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_624fbcabd7961" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Australia&#8217;s largest exchange and a local car retailer have inked a deal allowing customers to buy luxury vehicles with crypto</li>
 <li>The move marks a country first and one of the world&#8217;s first, since Tesla walked back its decision to let its customers make purchases using bitcoin</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



One of Australia&#8217;s largest crypto exchanges by total users has inked a deal with a local retailer allowing individuals to purchase luxury vehicles using crypto.



The deal between crypto exchange CoinSpot and Melbourne-based car retailer Dutton Garage means customers of the company can now make a purchase in up to 30 cryptos including bitcoin, according to a statement on Friday.



The move to allow investors to purchase vehicles using digital assets breaks new ground for the country and is one of the world&#8217;s first since electric carmaker <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/24/elon-musk-says-people-can-now-buy-a-tesla-with-bitcoin.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a> initially proposed the sale of its cars for bitcoin last year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk later <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36434628/tesla-bitcoin-wont-accept/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">walked back</a> the company&#8217;s decision, citing environmental concerns over bitcoin mining.



Purchases will be made available through CoinSpot&#8217;s over-the-counter trading desk, which the exchange says will limit exposure to market fluctuations, minimize low liquidity risk and reduce slippage for those customers transacting greater than $50,000.



The crypto industry&#8217;s relationship with luxury vehicles has a deep history stemming back to 2011 when startup CEO Peter Saddington cashed in <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/16967478/buy-lamborghini-with-bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">45 bitcoin</a> he had acquired for $115 to buy a $200,000 Lamborghini Huracan. The Lamborghini, or “Lambo,” became somewhat of a status symbol to prove one&#8217;s success in the crypto world and inspired a meme culture around it.



Indeed, some luxury vehicles listed on <a href="https://duttongarage.com/classic-cars" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dutton&#8217;s site</a>, including a 1967 Ford Mustang and a 1964 Porsche Coup, retail for around $350,000 Australian dollars (US$262,000).



Both companies said the partnership was in response to &#8220;strong demand&#8221; from Australian customers to purchase vehicles and other luxury items using crypto.



&#8220;With Web3, digital currencies are becoming more than just stores of value, and instead, legitimate ways to purchase big-ticket items,&#8221; CoinSpot Chief Product Officer Gary Howells said. &#8220;Increasing crypto’s utility is the key to driving mass adoption of what we believe is the future of finance.&#8221;



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Australians Can Now Buy Cars With Crypto in Country First

<div id="highlights-block_624a7d6770f1b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Berlin-based payments provider Lunu will facilitate digital payments and help the fashion brand buoy volatile prices</li>
 <li>The brand joins a growing list of luxury fashion lines adopting crypto, including watchmaker Hublot and Italian streetwear brand Philipp Plein</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Luxury fashion brand Off-White has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments across its flagship stores in Paris, Milan and London, <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/want-to-spend-your-crypto-on-fashion-off-white-now-accepts-it" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vogue Business</a> reported Thursday.



Off-White, which generated an estimated <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/the-plan-for-off-white-after-virgil-abloh/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$7 billion in revenue</a> last year, said it will now take bitcoin, ether, binance coin, XRP, tether and Circle&#8217;s USDC in exchange for clothing and apparel.



The brand, founded by the late <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2022/04/the-grammys-called-virgil-abloh-a-hip-hop-fashion-designer.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virgil Abloh</a>, joins a growing list of luxury fashion brands adopting crypto, including watchmaker Hublot and Italian streetwear line Philipp Plein. The acceptance of digital assets is another sign of the growing appetite among major brands supported by increasingly sophisticated payment infrastructure.



Off-White will reportedly use Berlin-based payments provider Lunu to facilitate digital payments and help the fashion brand buoy volatile prices via a crypto-to-currency point-of-sales arbitrage system. The Lunu System combines a terminal and widget with a processing service that conducts &#8220;instant auctions.&#8221;



That system, based on a pool of independent arbitrageurs, assigns the market price for the crypto-to-fiat exchange, while systems oracles monitor and verify the transactions in third-party blockchains, according to <a href="https://lunu.io/company/why-now" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lunu&#8217;s website</a>. 



“This is another important step in the growth of the brand that looks towards the future, including Web 3.0 technologies, understanding the needs and desires of its ever-evolving customer base,” according to a company statement as cited in the report.



The majority of Off-White&#8217;s consumer base consists mainly of Gen Y or &#8220;<a href="https://440industries.com/off-white-history-case-study-know-the-brand/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Millennials</a>&#8221; — those born between 1981 and 1996. They also happen to be one of the crypto industry&#8217;s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2021/11/11/cryptos-super-user-young-men-43-of-us-males-aged-18-to-29-have-bought-the-currency/?sh=4cffdd2c349a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest adopters</a>.



The company, which was incorporated in Milan in 2012, is majority-owned by <a href="https://www.lvmh.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton</a> after it acquired a 60% stake in the label last year. The brand&#8217;s parent company, New Guards Group, was purchased by luxury marketplace Farfetch for $675 million in August 2019.



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