FTX looks to luxury market for growth

The crypto exchange announced that it has hired Lauren Remington Platt, a beauty entrepreneur, to spearhead partnerships with luxury brands. The move hopes to capture the wealth of the crypto class.

Why should we care?
According to Jeffries, as much as a quarter of last year’s luxury sales were driven by the growing wealth of crypto holders. With that moneyed surge in mind, FTX has looked to a range of sectors to increase its market share and value. Luxury brands have already geared up to tap into crypto by themselves—that is, without established partnerships with crypto companies like FTX. Prada has worked with Adidas to launch an NFT, Gucci has done the same with Superplastic, and Ralph Lauren has opened stores in the metaverse. FTX may hope to buoy its own reputation by working with established luxury brands while also making it the go-to company for brands looking to enter DeFi ecosystems. FTX has also demonstrated that it approaches crypto enthusiasts as a collective of diverse demographics—albeit a largely male collective—rather than a singular class. Platt said that she saw luxury partnerships as a way to bring more women into the crypto fold. Meanwhile, FTX is also doubling down in more traditional crypto-friendly spaces, including the gaming sector; earlier this week, it announced an FTX division dedicated to partnerships with games publishers. FTX clearly eyes a hybridized B2B-B2C approach across these fields.