‘Til death do us part…

Those five words – which bind a couple in holy matrimony – will take on new meaning in the very near future.

Just ask Traci and Dave Gagnon, who wedded over Labor Day weekend.

The ceremony included the bride in a gown and the groom in a tuxedo… A best man and bridesmaid… And 7-year-old twins served as the ring bearer and flower girl.

But it was far from your traditional wedding…

Traci and Dave married in the metaverse.

The bride, groom, best man, bridesmaid, ring bearer, and flower girl were all digital avatars of their real-world selves.

Virbela – a company that builds virtual environments for work, learning, and events – staged the entire online ceremony.

While “virtual” weddings aren’t legal (at least not yet), you can combine them with a real wedding. That’s what the Gagnons did.

According to the New York Times, the Gagnons had a “hybrid” wedding. They officially married in person at a resort in New Hampshire while hosting their virtual metaverse wedding for those who couldn’t attend.

So, while couples married in real world weddings might be limited by things like capped guest lists or expensive venues… a metaverse wedding has limitless potential.

Sandy Hammer is the founder of Allseated, which creates digital planning tools for weddings. The company is investing in the metaverse by creating virtual versions of real-world event spaces like the Plaza Hotel in New York.

As Hammer told the Times: “If you really want to do something different, in the metaverse you might as well let your creativity go wild.”

And you can do it at a fraction of the cost.

According to the Newlywed Report, a traditional wedding comes with a hefty price tag of over $33,000. You can organize a metaverse wedding for a few thousand dollars.

It’s become cliché. But I know what you’re thinking: Weddings in the metaverse sound insane. But the metaverse trend is here to stay. And it’s only accelerating…

Saying “I Do” in the Metaverse

Rebecca Rose and Peter Kacherginsky are employees of leading U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase.

In April, they used Ethereum’s blockchain to become lawfully wedded.

In addition to a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, Kacherginsky wrote an Ethereum smart contract named Tabaat (the Hebrew word for ring) that issued tokenized “rings” to the couple’s crypto wallets.

We won’t go into all the details of the smart contract between the newlyweds… but the entire process cost about $587 in crypto transaction fees.

The point is this…

We’ve gone from tokenizing marriage contracts on the blockchain to a full-fledged wedding in the metaverse in less than 8 months…

Think about that… Some marriages don’t even last that long.

We’re seeing exponential growth of the metaverse. Much faster than the internet, which took decades to reach widespread adoption.

That’s why Daily editor Teeka Tiwari calls it the biggest tech trend he’s seen since he started recommending bitcoin in 2016.

And the biggest beneficiary of the metaverse will be tiny cryptos called non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Here’s Teeka:

What I’ve come to discover is that NFT usage is about to explode higher. It all has to do with a new way of interacting with the internet called the “metaverse.”

The metaverse is the name given to a virtual world where people can interact as digital avatars. It will be an immersive experience in which we interact with the internet and each other in sensory-rich environments delivered to us via augmented and virtual reality.

And as usual, when it comes to crypto he’s spot on…

Just last week, Chainalysis released a report saying NFTs have exploded into a $27 billion segment of the overall $2.2 trillion crypto market.

That’s already bigger than the U.S. automotive and commerce industries combined.

The NFT Takeover Is Underway

If you’re not familiar with NFTs, they’re digital tokens that allow you to trade all types of assets, including collectibles like art, trading cards, and even music.

The tokens also prove the authenticity and ownership of these assets.

Think of NFTs as digital certificates of authenticity wrapped with a hack-proof title of ownership.

Unlike a paper certificate of authenticity or title to a property, blockchain-secured NFTs cannot be hacked, tampered with, or changed.

The Kacherginskys used an NFT to create their marriage contract. So we know it’s the real deal.

We can foresee the day when the metaverse completely disrupts the $56.7 billion wedding services industry.

Just think about it…

In the metaverse, you can create guest lists that number in the thousands… Use NFTs as gift registries… And even have your wedding virtually in another country.

(Just last month, the popular island destination of Barbados became the first sovereign nation to announce an embassy in the metaverse.)

And the utility of NFTs won’t stop at weddings. Already, you can use NFTs to:

  • Exchange “virtual” products for their real-world analogs.

  • Prove ownership of real-world assets, like cars, paintings, or real estate.

  • Play games or complete quests that reward you in digital assets you can use elsewhere.

That’s why you need to get into the NFT space now – while less than 5 million Americans own them.

That’s fewer than the number of Americans using bitcoin when Teeka first recommended it in 2016… So we’re still very early in this trend.

But you don’t want to wait… because a one-time event is about to send this tiny sector of altcoins into overdrive.

This Catalyst Will Kick NFTs Into Overdrive

Teeka calls this event the “Final Halving.”

This Final Halving is not pre-programmed like the other halvings. But it’ll have a tremendous impact on bitcoin’s price.

That’s because we’re about to see the incoming supply of new bitcoin drop by as much as 98.2%.

Coupled with a huge demand for bitcoin from bitcoin rewards cards, and Teeka projects that the supply of new bitcoin coming to market in 2022 will fall to zero.

Last week, Teeka held a special presentation on how the Final Halving will shoot bitcoin 10x higher than today’s prices. You can watch the replay here.

As for how the Final Halving ties to NFTs…

Bitcoin is the gateway to the crypto-verse. For many tokens, first you need to buy bitcoin, send it to an exchange, and then exchange bitcoin for altcoins.

As the metaverse trend accelerates, we’ll see an explosion of NFTs. And you’ll need bitcoin to buy them. It’s like the old saying: A rising tide lifts all boats.

So, if you want an indirect play on the metaverse, buy bitcoin.

But while Teeka believes bitcoin could surge 10x from the Final Having, he’s found six plays that could soar an order of magnitude higher. It’s almost like having 50-1 leverage without having the risk of using borrowed money.

Five of the six have direct metaverse applications, from building virtual worlds to blockchain gaming… so they’re an easy way to take advantage of both crypto trends.

Teeka shared details on all six during his special presentation. You can watch the replay right here. But don’t wait. It’s only airing for a limited time.

Regards,

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Chaka Ferguson
Editorial Director, Palm Beach Daily