Nevada county offers Ethereum-based marriage certificates

Local governments in some northern Nevada counties have begun incorporating blockchain into their public record systems, the AP reports. Since the program’s debut last April, around 950 couples in Washoe County have received marriage certificates using the technology. The Ethereum-based smart contracts can be delivered to newlyweds' home computers and smartphones via email in less than 24 hours, compared to up to 10 business days for paper equivalents. Meanwhile, Elko County is currently trying out a similar solution for issuing digital birth certificates.

The move is not the first time the Silver State has given the nod to the decentralised ledger technology. Back in 2017, Nevada became the first US state to approve a bill exempting Blockchain transactions from taxation. According to AP, the changes have been met with mixed reactions, both from Nevadans and local government agencies—some of which are not accustomed to accepting digital certificates, despite their legitimacy. Still, Washoe County is not giving up on blockchain—the local government is currently considering a digital record recovery system based on the technology.