Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has announced a bold plan to send a physical bitcoin to the moon in a historic space mission. The exchange has partnered with Astrobotic Technology, a leading space robotics company, to deliver a one-of-a-kind bitcoin coin to the lunar surface with its Peregrine lunar lander.
BitMEX, one of the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, has revealed its ambitious project to send a physical bitcoin to the moon. The exchange said that it wanted to showcase bitcoin’s potential beyond Earth and to be the first to land a financial asset on the moon.
The exchange will mint a special bitcoin coin, similar to the Casascius coins of 2013, which will contain one bitcoin at an address that will be publicly released. The coin will also display the BitMEX name, the mission name, the date it was minted, and the bitcoin price at the time of minting. The coin will be protected by a tamper-evident hologram covering.
The coin will be delivered to the moon by Astrobotic Technology, a Pennsylvania-based company that specializes in space robotics. Astrobotic has been selected by NASA to deliver science, exploration, and technology demonstration payloads to the lunar surface with its Peregrine lunar lander. The Peregrine-1 mission is scheduled to launch in November 2021 and will mark the first time a private company leads a coalition of government, academia, industry, and international partners to the moon.
Astrobotic Technology: A Pioneer in Space Robotics
Astrobotic Technology is a company that aims to make space accessible to the world. The company was founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon University professor Red Whittaker and his associates. The company has won several awards and contracts from NASA, the US Air Force, and other organizations for its innovative space solutions.
The company’s flagship product is the Peregrine lunar lander, a versatile and modular spacecraft that can carry up to 90 kg of payload to the moon. The Peregrine-1 mission will be the first of many planned lunar deliveries by Astrobotic, which has already secured contracts for 16 future lunar missions.
The company also offers other services, such as the CubeRover, a small and agile rover that can explore the lunar terrain, and the Polaris rover, a larger and more capable rover that can prospect for water and other resources on the moon. The company also plans to develop a lunar base called the Griffin Lander, which can host larger payloads and human crews.
Bitcoin on the Moon: A Symbol of Crypto’s Future
The collaboration between BitMEX and Astrobotic is not only a historic achievement for space exploration, but also a symbolic gesture for the cryptocurrency community. Bitcoin, the first and most dominant cryptocurrency, has often been associated with the phrase “to the moon”, which signifies its exponential growth and adoption.
By sending a physical bitcoin to the moon, BitMEX and Astrobotic hope to demonstrate the resilience and innovation of the bitcoin protocol, which has survived and thrived for over a decade despite numerous challenges and obstacles. The project also aims to inspire more people to learn about and use bitcoin, as well as to explore the possibilities of crypto beyond Earth.
Alex Höptner, the CEO of BitMEX, said, “My day job is to help explore the potential of crypto beyond fiat currencies, so it’s hugely exciting to be a part of a project to explore human space presence beyond Earth. For all the talk of bitcoin going to the moon, we’re actually going to do it. We couldn’t be more happy to be supporting Astrobotic’s attempt to put its commercial lander on the moon.”
The project also comes as a response to Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, who has announced his plans to send Dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency, to the moon with his Starship rocket. BitMEX said that it had nothing against Dogecoin, but it felt it was only right to help bitcoin get there first.
