[Feature] Crypto Dating, Metaverse Romance, Blockchain Courtship – A Modern Twist to Love

From traditional arranged marriages to love declarations in public, in-game dating, and more, love knows no boundaries and is transcendent. Regardless of means and methods, the ultimate goal is to find someone. With the advanced and ever-evolving technology, looking for love has crossed over into the metaverse and crypto realm.

With virtual-reality (VR) dating on the rise, many companies are developing new ways to connect people in the metaverse. But with ventures, there can only either be success or failure. Tinder’s journey has not been smooth-sailing to say the least ─ the plug was pulled on an attempt to build a metaverse dating space and the creation of an in-app currency after unenthusiastic response in test markets. Another major dating app, Bumble, also expressed interest in the metaverse. While some dating giants have failed or are still struggling, various upstarts have been successful instead.

Nevermet, a VR dating app using avatar-based profiles in the metaverse, lets users match with someone and go on amazing VR dates

One of the unique features of Nevermet is that once two people match, they (their custom avatars) are meant to leave the app’s ecosystem to connect on the platform’s 25,000 community-created virtual worlds. In Nevermet, users get to express themselves by posting creative holograms, control who they meet with age and gender filters, and explores billions of locations with their match, along with many other features!

Nevermet CEO Cam Mullen’s interview with Tom Llamas as he delves in-depth on how dating using VR works

Another metaverse dating app, Planet Theta, focuses instead on creating their own virtual worlds in an effort to tailor user experiences. Its platform connects potential matches via virtual speed dating whereby singles are paired up for short, one-minute online chats. If that goes well, they can reconnect for a three-minute virtual coffee date in a Planet Theta-designed café. The next step, users get to view their dates’ pictures and vote thumbs up or down. If that too is successful, they can connect for future dates in Planet Theta’s metaverse world ─ from taking a virtual walk through an enchanted forest to sipping virtual drinks at a couples-only bar, enjoying a cinematic experience at their Ritestream (an NFT film funding platform) theater, and other magical virtual locations.

For majority of the users, once a meaningful relationship is formed and they fall in love, they would eventually meet up in reality. However, this varies from person to person as some choose to remain in VR to maintain the digital relationship.

For those who might be looking for a more monetary benefit on top of love, will not be disappointed with Datingverse, a social metaverse for dating based on Web3 and VR technology. Datingverse sets up a “dating-to-earn” mechanism, meaning you earn cryptocurrency just for going on a date, while allowing fans to establish interactive relationships with content creators through subscription service. So even if you go on a really bad date, you still get paid for it!

Besides earning crypto for going on dates, you can own dating land, own content subscription channel, and more

On Datingverse’s website, there is mention of the Genesis NFT. To raise more initial R&D funds and to find early active participants and supporters, a collection of 5,000 well-designed NFTs were released. Holder benefits include: unique genesis symbol, stake to get $DVC airdrop (5% of total $DVC), whitelist for dating land pre-sale, and participation in the DAO poll. Although a very promising project, there have been no updates from Datingverse with the last update on Twitter in 13 June 2022 talking about starting the free mint of Genesis NFT after the refund is completed.

It is seen that the Genesis NFT shown on OpenSea have yet to be revealed

Then comes those ready to tie the knot. For a particular couple who both worked at the crypto exchange Coinbase, the exchange of rings took on an unconventional meaning ─ they exchanged NFTs at their wedding (using an Ethereum smart contract the groom wrote, the couple exchanged unique digital signifiers containing a pink and blue animation titled “Tabaat”, meaning “ring” in Hebrew). What a truly meaningful and modern way to mint their union.

The couple got married on the blockchain

Ponder, a blockchain-based app, not only connects people for dates, it also allows others to play matchmaker and earn cryptocurrency from it ─ so you do not have to be single to mingle! That means that even if you are committed, you can simply take part in the community as a matchmaker as every match on Ponder is generated by another human being. This revenue model allows users to only pay when they succeed in connecting with someone they actually want to meet, which helps in eliminating spam and creeps.

When two people are identified as matches, they will get a notification and both parties are asked to pay in order to initiate contact. If consent is mutual, they begin communication and setting up of their date while the matchmaker receives a portion of the payment as a reward. Fast forward to the future, if the couple ends up getting hitched, the matchmaker gets a bonus of up to $1,000. This creates an environment where people play a contributing part to other members’ success, thus developing a positively reinforcing community.

As of now, Ponder is only available on Android

The age of romance evolves with time, technology, and more, and with the development of Web3, this culture will constantly evolve. Many vendors have already joined this ecosystem and more will do so. As the saying goes, “Love knows no reason, no boundaries, no distance…”. So what is next for love?

Written by: [Coinlive] Catherine