The world is changing, and just as the world changes, so too does divorce. And, what a divorce looks like today is very different from what it looked like even just a few years ago. And, one such way that divorce looks much different today is digital assets.
Digital money
We are currently in a so-called crypto-winter, although many cryptocurrencies have recovered a large percentage of their value this year. But, over the last few years, we have learned that fortunes can be made and lost in months, days or minutes in cryptocurrencies. This is as a result of a low-regulatory environment, favorable tax treatment and the ease of trading cryptocurrencies.
Digital art
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) use the same technology as cryptocurrencies to give digital art unique metadata and identification codes that distinguishes it from anything else. In this way, the unique metadata and identification codes identify the original digital artwork from unauthorized copies, which allows for unprecedented security and monetization not possible before with intangible digital art. These are often traded in the same exchanges as cryptocurrencies and have the same volatility.
Digital real estate
While it may seem odd for the uninitiated, there is a virtual real estate boom currently happening in the Metaverse. However, this is not new. It happened in the past in games like Second Life. These virtual plots of land have real value, however, unfortunately, the volatility is the same as that of NFTs and cryptocurrency because the Metaverse is still not a known quantity. Frankly, we still just do not know whether it will be successful or not.
Digital income
Unlike the other digital asset classes, digital income has been around for decades. However, how people make money online is changing. While Mount Holly, New Jersey, residents still make money by selling goods and services online, many people are selling content now. They are known as social media influencers, and they are essentially, selling themselves. They make themselves the brand, and through sponsored content, ad partnerships, merchandise and donations, monetize the content they create. This can be content they singularly create or content they create with their spouse or family.
The takeaways
Unfortunately, in this brave new digital world, the flexibility and freedom come with volatility. Volatility complicates the divorce process, which is why those in the property-division process usually bring in an expert to value their digital assets and income.