“For better or worse, til’ death do us part, because the blockchain is forever”, says David Mondrus about the marriage upon which he embarked with his wife, Joyce, whom he met in the Philippines. Joyce and David Mondrus were married in 2014… on the blockchain.
The blockchain represents a decentralized and public ledger constantly tracking all bitcoin transactions. It’s distributed all around the world on thousands of computers. The blockchain keeps track of transactions, but it is also possible to include metadata into the record of a transaction.
‘Let me tell you, it was painful’
Attendees of Joyce and David’s wedding were shown a QR code linking to the transaction wherein the data associated with the marriage was recorded. They got the idea after having to deal with the bureaucratic gridlock that comes with a binational marriage.
“Think about how crazy this is,” Mr. Mondrus tells Bitcoin.com. “Two people who love each other must spend thousands of dollars, months or even years of time and lots of paper to two governments for the privilege of moving across imaginary lines. Not only that, but the marriage is only legal in the country you file. So when we got married in the US, the government of the Philippines had no idea about it. It was only after we had travelled to the embassy, filled out more paperwork and waited that it was officially recognized over there. Let me tell you, it was painful.”
Mr. Mondrus acknowledges how Bitcoin enables the frictionless sending of money. That’s not all it does, though, in his eyes. “It also allows us to commit to each other in a public, transparent way, and in a way that will be enshrined forever,” he says. “As long as Bitcoin exists our commitment will be visible.”
While Joyce and David simply included extra data in their blockchain transaction, there are several ways to use the blockchain to declare one’s love. Bitnation offers a service called ‘Smart Love’ where users enjoy the flexibility to define and design a marriage any way desired.
“Prenups, postnups, child care contracts, even multi-party marriages can all be designed the way you want using the legal code that suits you best,” Mr. Mondrus explains of smart contracts and marriage.
Bitnation partnered with Estonia’s e-residency program to register the marriage of two Spanish-born residents of London, Edurne Lolnaz and Mayel de Borniol.
“We don’t need any state or church to validate our marriage,” they state in a blog about their blockchain marriage. “Therefore, we are entering into this agreement, in front of witnesses, notarised on the Blockchain (the world’s first decentralised public ledger), under the auspices of Bitnation (the world’s “first virtual nation”) and e-Estonia (the world’s first virtual residency).”
Further, Eternitywall.it is a service enabling anyone to embed a message in the blockchain and post it to an online site. On that website, there’s no shortage of love declarations on the blockchain. Love is the second most used term on Eternity Wall behind Bitcoin.
A Love Letter on the Blockchain?
A love letter recently appeared in a Bitcoin transaction. “Dayah Dover, your personality is unmatched. Your intelligence just shines. You can do things few people can. And you’re always just gorgeous. You are really my entire world, giving my life meaning and fun. Dayah, I love you.” The sender spent 0.00314159 bitcoin (approximately 3 USD at the time of writing).
Ms. Dover’s name had popped up in popular r/bitcoin forums before the love letter transaction, but there are no specific online mentions which tie her to the digital currency. Ms. Dover, who posts photos of her scantily clad self online, solicits direct messages on her Instagram. She has nearly 25,000 followers. “Marxist. Atheist. Humanist. International Model,” is how she describes herself.
It just goes to show, whether your love is romantic, passionate or even slightly creepy, there might just be a place for it on the blockchain.