Clothing stores enjoy selling product in exchange for "payment". Typically payment is made in some sort of fiat currency. A fiat currency is money that is not backed by a physical commodity like gold, but instead backed by the government that issued it. Fiat money does not have intrinsic value and does not have use value. It has value only because a government maintains its value, or because parties engaging in exchange agree on its value. When shopping for clothing, retailers often accept various methods of payment. Most common methods of payments include cash, credit card, debit card, or check. The new kid on the block in regard to payment methods would be Crypto.
Cryptocurrency is in summary virtual money. It is a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank. Crypto-currency is a digital asset based on an algorithm. A cryptocurrency, crypto currency or crypto is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership.
Should all clothing stores accept crypto currency payments?
Sure, why not? Well, if an apparel or footwear retailer can easily convert the currency to fiat currency, we don't see a problem. However, consider the following.
Coins fluctuate in price. If you sell a pair of sneaks for 1 particular coin, what happens if the value drops before you cash in the coin for US dollars?
Cryptocurrency is either a coin or a token.
What is a crypto coin?
A coin is a cryptocurrency that is the native asset on its own blockchain. These cryptocurrencies are required to pay for transaction fees and basic operations on the blockchain. BTC (Bitcoin) and ETH (Ethereum) are examples of coins. Crypto coins have their own blockchain which essentially means that they have a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that records all transactions on a digital ledger.
What are stabelcoins?
Stablecoins are “pegged” to traditional assets like fiat (meaning government-backed currency like the US Dollar or Euro) or gold. One of the advantage of stablecoins is that crypto investors can move their money from volatile cryptocurrency to stablecoins (which in "theory" are less volitile). This can be done instead of converting it back to USD, which can be a two-step process that incurs transaction fees. Although the word "coin" is in the name, stabelcoins, are usually tokens.
What are tokens? Are they different than coins?
Tokens are crypto assets that have been issued on top of other blockchain networks. Coins have their own blockchain and tokens do not. Theoretically a token can be created on any blockchain. Investing in a token often requires exchanging fiat currency for a crypto coin first. With the crypto coin a token can be purchased. You will find that their are "utility tokens" and "security tokens".
A utility token gives an investor access to a service or product.
A security token represent part-ownership in a tradeable, real-world asset external to the blockchain.
Coins in theory serve a currency (a means of exchange) within that network.
What is blockchain?
Simply put it is a digital ledger.
A blockchain is a growing list of records called blocks which are interconnected by utilizing cryptography. First implemented in 2009, the technology consists of 'blocks' that hold batches of timestamped transactions, with each block linked to the previous one through cryptography, thus forming a chain. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a time stamp, and exchange information. Utilizing blockchain we can safely store information over the shared system, where everybody can see but can't do any alteration. Most cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology to record transactions. Transactions are simply the actions carried out in a particular period, these are stored together in a block. What makes blockchain more unique is that each block contains the cryptographic hash of the previous one, thus forming a chain. What a cryptographic hash does is take the data from the previous block and transform it into a compact string.
A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or a service which stores the public and/or private keys for cryptocurrency transactions. Some of them have been designed to store and use only one crypto coin, while the others are suitable for different tokens. The most popular wallets are hosted wallets, non-custodial wallets, and hardware wallets.
Do you think that clothing stores should accept crypto currency payments?
If you don't want crypto and prefer to carry cash or credit cards, may may want to find an actual wallet.
Can advertisers pay with crypto currency here on Apparel Search?
Are you planning to shop for clothing in the metaverse? If yes, you may need to learn about metaverse clothing stores & metaverse shoe stores.
If you are trying to find ways to earn crypto currency, you may want to learn about crypto faucets.
Here are some helpful websites & information to learn more about how to implement crypto currency in your fashion business.
Binance.us (this is a referral link) - crypto currency exchange
FTX us - crypto exchange
CoinGecko you can check coingecko.com, search for your token, then click the Markets tab to see where you could swap this token and where it can be traded.
If you have suggestions regarding other helpful resources for members of the apparel industry, please let us know.
It is important to note that the technologies discussed above and terminology is in its infancy. The technologies, processes, etc., are evolving. Make sure to do additional research to check for revisions and improvements to coins, tokens, blockchain, etc.