Buying lingerie with Bitcoin is probably the cypherpunk-iest way to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Lila Williams, founder and CEO of Panties.com, shared with CoinDesk that her company goes through a few bitcoin payments monthly since she started endorsing bitcoin to her company in March 2017. Based on CryptoCurry’s article, for the very first time, people are able to utilize Bitcoins to buy sexy and comfortable lingerie directly from the major lingerie website. This particular progress opens more doors for users of Bitcoin, while at the same time Bitcoin attains more significance and utilization in the commerce world.

Ergo, since the Valentine’s Day season is approaching, Lila’s website is organizing a campaign where all copped items paid in bitcoin receive a 15 percent off and a pair of lace panties for free.

A few bitcoin devotees might be hesitant to shell out their crypto on garments. Yet intimate apparels, particularly, is usually seen by aficionados as a purchase equivalent to an investment in a piece of fine craftsmanship such as jewelry.

Coindesk shared on its article that if bitcoin is an investment, then buying lingerie with the use of bitcoin from women-led businesses that accept cryptocurrency, such as Naja and Kala, is a way to invest in women. Also considering that both pay off apparel manufacturers salaries that are above usual and use materials that are fair-trade.

Rebecca Migirov, ethereum venture studio Consensys’ alumna and lingerie brand Kala’s CEO, shared with CoinDesk that a “woman-led revolution in terms of product” is what the industry is longing for. She says that the best way to encourage the adoption of crypto is for customers to “show there’s demand in the market.”

That is the reason why a member of the Digital Currency Association named Rick Shaddock, mentioned that he used bitcoin he got at the time of the peak of the market in December 2017 to get his wife panties for their anniversary because in lacy underthings there is no volatility.

Shaddock said in an email:

“It turned out to be a wise exchange, because BTC went down 80 percent … Panties were a much better investment than bitcoin in 2018.”

Censorship Resistant Sites Might Be Beneficial to the Lingerie Industry

Coindesk mentioned that the industry of American lingerie has largely been dominated by companies with questionable labor practices, since bras are mainly, a struggle to mass produce and need to be put together by hand at some point.

An example given by Coindesk would be Victoria’s Secret, majority is owned by billionaire Lex Wexner, which allegedly resorted to cheap prison labor and child labor. Lingerie companies with higher ethical standards but less corporate power deal with uncontrolled advertising censorship from subscription websites like Patreon to social media platforms such as Google and Instagram.

“There are enormous problems with advertising even luxury lingerie,” (Lila Williams).

Williams shared with CoinDesk that, besides having problems with Google Ads, Facebook regularly puts a stop to her ads and tags them as “sexual content,” even if the picture shows a woman in modest undergarments.



Another company that has the same issue is Migirov’s Kala brand. They struggle with converting shoppers through social networking sites such as Instagram, which usually mislabel lingerie ads as pornography. Therefore, Migirov stated that the industry of lingerie could take advantage of censorship-resistant sites with smooth bitcoin payment options.



The only issue that both Williams and Migirov agree with, is that the lingerie industry isn’t really tech-savvy, in particular. Up till OpenBazaar or AdLedger and other crypto-friendly retail platforms gained attraction from mainstream audiences, websites that are siloed might place a limit on store advertising and sales.

With 33 years of experience in the industry of lingerie, first starting a website then accepting credit card payments before majority of her competitors, Williams added:

“Yes, computers were the big disappointment of 1990, but they aren’t any more. And I believe that one day the same will be said of bitcoin.”

Development is Slow

Bitcoin Exchange Guide added that according to Williams, if the technology of bitcoin becomes more prevalent and user-friendly, she will be more interested in processing her own bitcoin payments. She also added that she holds some bitcoin savings from time to time instead of converting it to cash instantly.

“One of the problems with bitcoin is when you push that button it is gone, gone, gone, there is no recourse,” (Lila Williams).

In addition to the $75 monthly fee, traditional credit card transactions can amount up to 3 percent of her earnings every month. Which overlooks the average 1 percent transaction fee incurred by using Bitpay.



In the case of Bitpay and Shopify, they offer a guarantee that is not only comforting but efficient in the event that something goes wrong. Furthermore, during the past six months, a number of plug-and-play bitcoin node devices have transpired which greatly influences the lightning network and therefore reduce network fees to surprising lows.



Co-founder of the French startup Nodl, Michel Luczak, and Lightning in a Box co-founder, Norman Moore from New York, both of which are node retailers, have announced on Coindesk that we are expected to see a moderate adoption throughout the merchant sector since education is the biggest obstacle to tackle outside the technology industry.

“We are trying to sell not one node per shop, but for a group of shops, to show them that this can bring them more freedom… It’s a problem of trying to educate people and show what [a node] can bring them.” Luczak said, speaking broadly about a wide range of vendors.

Wide range adoption especially in the lingerie industry may be slow, but it continues on a steady incline. When considering the sector of fashion economy, the majority of entrepreneurs are females who are often censored or sidelined. However, with the mass adoption and growth of cryptocurrency payment, the power can be shifted towards the shoppers giving them an opportunity to empower these businesses directly and challenge the corporate norms.

“More people ask to use bitcoin over the phone than ask to use Discover card,” (Lila Williams)

Do you think the lingerie industry really needs cryptocurrency? Should other companies start adopting now as well or wait til the technology is at the point where people can easily use it to make payments? Let us know what you think on the comment section below!

