No more gold coins? Tech-savvy relative gifts newlyweds cryptocurrency at Turkish wedding
Instead of gold coins, this Turkish couple received cryptocurrency as a wedding gift
In Turkey, if you’re all spruced up and are about to attend a wedding, chances are that you will present the happy couple with either gold coins or money so as to give the newlyweds a start in their life together.
Although it might seem vulgar to some, the groom and bride are each adorned with a red ribbon, à la the Hawaiian floral wreaths hotel managers use to welcome guests, whereupon lined-up guests are expected to pin gold coins, jewelry, or affix banknotes during the marriage ceremony, in front of everyone no less.
More modern couples opt for their guests putting their monetary gifts in envelopes and sticking them in a crate or basket that resembles a money box.
However, the long-practiced Turkish ritual has been altered following the rise of cryptocurrencies, as "Gold 2.0" seems to be a growing trend in the digital age.
A cryptocurrency investor, Hamza Özkan Cıbır, presented a total of 1,000 cryptocoins, each worth $3 to his newly married relative instead of the yellow metal in Turkey's southeastern Hatay province, claiming that digital currency will be as common as gold coins at wedding ceremonies in the future.
"Today, everything is going digital. Digital currency will become widespread and be given as weddings gifts more often," the brother of the groom, Fevzi Akyürek told reporters.
The couple, Oğuzhan and Özge Altunkürek, who looked quite pleased with their deconstructed offering, posed for cameras after receiving their cryptocurrency. Here’s hoping the market doesn’t crash before they get a chance to cash in their spoils.
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