The digital currency wedding industry is taking off with iDIAMONDS offering diamond rings for Bitcoin. Following the first blockchain wedding at Coins in the Kingdom in late 2014, the wedding industry is taking note, as everything from rings to wedding dresses becomes savvy to the spending power of Bitcoin.
Online diamond and jewellery dealer iDIAMONDS is seeking to capture some of the US$ 4 billion value in the Bitcoin world, by pairing with BitPay to accept it for online purchases for it's wedding and investment jewellery. A recent survey of newly-wed couples found the average American wedding now costs in excess of US$ 30,000, making the American wedding industry worth around US$ 40 billion to the national economy. With so much value in the market, it's no surprise to see wedding merchants seeking to differentiate themselves, and in the case of iDIAMONDS, get involved in the developing digital currency world of the Bitcoin wedding.
Marriages have been big news in the cryptocurrency world since David Mondrus and Joyce Bayo registered their union in October 2014 by committing the phrase "For better or worse, ’til death do us part, because the blockchain is forever” as a contract on the blockchain itself. Mondrus himself is no stranger to the crossover between Bitcoin and the wedding business, being CEO of redboxjewels.com, another Bitcoin friendly jewellery merchant. The idea of a decentralized and non-governmental wedding service closely aligns with digital currency's power to operate outside of regulatory and geopolitical controls, and has been taken up by Bitnation who are seeking to build decentralized governmental services on the power of the blockchain.
Away from the world of politics and contract law however, couples are now being presented with an ever increasing range of conventional wedding services, payable through Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Co-founder of iDIAMONDS Dan Gildoni explains that as a company, they're seeking to make purchasing diamonds easier, and it was “in line with this mission, [we] decided to accept Bitcoin”. Once these high-tech couples have completed their ring giving ceremony, they'll find a range of other online merchants offering everything from wedding gowns at BridalBitcoin.com to a cake shop in San Francisco who will make you a cup-cake wedding cake, all paid for with bitcoin.
Whether couples will start flocking to the Bitcoin version of the traditional wedding remains to be seen, but the affiliation of a cultural institution such as marriage to the digital currency world could be another way in which currencies such as Bitcoin gain further acceptance in society. At least one Redditor seems keen to the follow the example of Mondrus and Bayo in uniting through the blockchain, and the growth in retailers making room for Bitcoin in the sector seems to suggest that the cryptographic contract functionality of the blockchain may be gaining popularity as a way to formalize otherwise governmental or legislative practices.
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