An American couple has just been united by the bonds of marriage… In the Metaverse. The ceremony took place on Decentraland, a virtual reality platform that consists of more than 90,000 virtual plots of land. The newlyweds called on the law firm Rose Law Group to ensure the legality of their marriage.
Ryan and Candice Hurley said yes for life this Saturday, February 5, 2022. The couple, based in Phoenix, Arizona, however decided to celebrate this marriage differently. Indeed, their union was sealed not in a town hall or a church, but in the Metaverse! More specifically, thes lovers have sworn loyalty on Decentralanda virtual reality platform consisting of more than 90,000 plots of land and which is based on the Ethereum blockchain.
The ceremony brought together more than 2000 virtual guests, in the presence of Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick. In order to ensure the legality and legal value of their marriage, the couple appealed to the law firm Rose Law Group. The group’s founder and president, Jordan Rose, says it’s all about first marriage organized on a blockchain-based metaverse.
The first marriage celebrated on the American metaverse
“Because the Metaverse is still in its infancy, we have developed the legal paradigm for a legally recognized marriage,” she told our colleagues from the CoinTelegraph site. Incidentally, the law firm also hosted the wedding on their own plot located on Decentraland. For the occasion, the company has developed a “meta-wedding framework” with a “virtual prenuptial agreement” which allows confirm the couple’s virtual identities and digital assets on the blockchain.
Additionally, a “meta-marriage license” was signed to identify, record and symbolize the couple’s virtual identities and place of union on the blockchain in the form of an NFT. “There is currently no legal framework for marriage in the Metaverse, so whether or not it is legally binding is more a matter of contract.” explains Jordan Rose.
She continues: “Unlike the real world, the Metaverse isn’t limited by physical constraints that restrict your vision of the perfect marriage. Only in the Metaverse can your wildest, most imaginative dream wedding ever become reality”, specify the Decentraland teams in the description of the event.
A union parasitized by technical bugs
Note, however, that the couple’s nuptials were a bit marred by many technical problems. Indeed, Decentraland’s servers were hit for the large number of guests (more than 2000). In addition, the couple had planned to offer gifts in the form of NFTs to the guests, only there were not enough for everyone.
Then other bugs ruined this digital wedding. Thus, the avatar of the groom remained frozen in the aisle leading to the altar, while that of Candice simply did not appear in the eyes of some guests. Indeed, according to the servers on which the guests were distributed, the bride was either wearing a dress, a hooded sweatshirt or was simply not there!
Note that if Jordan Rose seems convinced of the legality of this union, this is not the case for all legal experts. As our colleagues from the CoinTelegraph site remind us, the American Marriage Ministries stipulates that a marriage ceremony is considered legal if the two people are physically present at the place of union. Remember, however, that the couple had already been married in “real” life for 14 years.
The Metaverse, what is it exactly?
For those who have been wondering since the beginning of this article what the Metaverse is, let’s say it is of a set of interconnected virtual spaces in which users can live and share different immersive 3D experiences. We find this idea of a permanent and massively multiplayer virtual world, popularized in particular by the “game” Second Life released in 2003.
The term Metaverse has returned to center stage since Facebook’s name change to Meta and the group’s desire to invest heavily in the development of a new Metaverse. Since then, many companies have sought to develop in this virtual universe, such as Carrefour, which bought a plot in the Metaverse, or the company Tokens.com, which acquired 116 virtual plots on Decentraland for the historic sum of $2.43 million.
Source: CoinTelegraph
