Digital Vows: The Future of Marriage Through Smart Contracts & NFTs

Since its inception, blockchain technology has been applied to numerous projects, including smart contracts, tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Its transparency, cost efficiency, and other unique qualities have led to even more innovative uses.

In early 2021, a Coinbase couple got married on the Ethereum blockchain, using tokenized rings to commemorate their marriage, the entire wedding costing a modest $580, including mining fees!? (Source: Cyptonary) ?This was followed by a digital marriage ceremony by a couple from Pune, India, in 2022. The couple, dressed in wedding attire, sat in front of a digital screen, with the ceremony officiated online by a digital priest—all without stepping outside (Source: Economic times)

After courthouse registeration, both couples registered their vows using smart contracts, while minting an NFT that they decided is a symbol of their marriage. Any assets owned, including digital art, watches, vehicles, and engagement rings, can be represented as NFTs. Couples might also use a smart contract to set guidelines on how these assets would be divided in the event of a divorce.

What Role Does an NFT Play in a Smart Contract?

A non-fungible token (NFT) is an exclusive digital identity stored on a blockchain, used to verify authenticity and ownership. It cannot be divided, replaced, or copied. An NFT’s ownership is documented on the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, enabling the selling and trading of NFTs.

In simple terms, NFT’s are digital versions of physical commodities encoded by generating a unique cryptographic key pair that will identify your work on the blockchain. ?

A smart contract is a digital contract that outlines the parameters of an agreement between two or more parties encoded so that they may be added on the blockchain. This contract can be programmed to self-execute based on a set of conditions, predefined and set in motion once they are fulfilled. Cryptocurrenceis , NFTs and assets can all be contained within smart contracts. For example: if a Will is encrypted into a smart contract, the assets will be dispersed according to the terms and conditions stated with in the NFT. ?BUT the asset itself can be an NFT as well !! ?Note: you can have a will on a smart contract; but the final call lies with the jurisdiction of the law.

How Do You Mint an NFT Within a Marriage Contract?

First, the couple decides what asset to mint; in one of the cases above, it was an image of wedding rings. The image is then minted to become an NFT and exchanged between the couple based on the terms they have encoded in the smart contract.

?To start trading NFTs, a crypto wallet must be connected to an NFT marketplace, and a profile created to mint NFTs on the platform. One of the largest NFT marketplaces, OpenSea, was used by both couples for their nuptials.

In order for this NFT to be added onto the blockchain it needs to be validated by? “Validators” on the chain. These validators use their own assets to verify that whatever is being added to the blockchain is authentic and valid. ?They are in turn paid a fee called a “Gas fee”, usually in Ether , the native currency of Ethereum . So the couple will pay the cost of the NFT plus the validation fee, which is significantly less than a traditional wedding . This encoded NFT is then traded by the miner or spouse into the digital wallet of the other spouse, completing the entire process in less than 15 minutes!

Other than the Novelty of the Concept, Is There Any Benefit to Marriage Smart Contracts?

Firstly, since these are digital contracts, they can be updated during the marriage. Any new asset that is considered a marital asset can be tokenized and added to the Marriage Smart Contract (MSC). Asset tokenization is the process by which an issuer creates digital tokens on a blockchain or other distributed ledger to represent digital or physical assets (Source: hedera.com)

You can also tokenize the actual wedding rings, and store the ownership rights as digital tokens and add them on a blockchain, just like the Coinbase bride and groom did for their wedding. This is what’s fascinating about dealing with NFTs and smart contracts—even physical items can be encoded and traded online.

In the future, it’s likely that every asset might be digitally identifiable due to the growth of digital assets and the tokenization of physical assets. A new car purchased by a couple might be registered in the MSC and have its ownership rights recorded on the blockchain. This could make it much easier to track down every asset the couple owns.

Second, most logically, if all assets are clearly marked, the division of matrimonial assets in a divorce will be significantly streamlined. Couples can also include divorce clauses in these smart contracts that can be executed when predefined parameters are triggered. However, while digital assets are recognized, there will need to be a common language contract to reflect all these clauses and assets for any courtroom to acknowledge and arbitrate in case of a dispute.

Third, an MSC can be coded so that the married parties can update it on a regular basis. According to a traditional marriage certificate, the only way to end a marriage is through a drawn-out divorce that is ordered by the court. MSCs can facilitate the divorce process, allowing dissatisfied and stuck spouses to exit a marriage quickly and more efficiently.

Conclusion

Though MSCs offer much versatility and freedom not seen with traditional marriage contracts—which resonates with late Millennials and Gen-Z who value freedom over stability—they cannot replace traditional contracts anytime soon. There has been a marked change in how marriage is viewed as a social construct, along with a significant shift in values. This shift is reflected in the significant increase in prenups, with data showing that the number of couples with prenups has risen from 3% in 2010 to 15% in 2022.(Source: Attwoodmarshall.com)

Since the coding is done by the couple themselves, we may find clauses that are arbitrary, such as requiring one partner to complete a chore a certain number of times per week, which may later be used as grounds for divorce. These clauses may not hold in a court of law, so there is a mismatch between an MSC and the law of the land. MSCs also do not address children and custody laws. These discrepancies make MSCs a very futuristic concept.

We will have to wait and see if MSCs will become popular enough to prompt changes in jurisprudence. Just like common law marriages or de facto marriages, which only became legalized in the 2000s and are still not recognized in some nations. It’s fascinating to think about—it's almost as if we’re saying, "Here are the rules I want to be judged on." Is it complete freedom or a form of anarchy?