By
Elsa Saikkonen
A crypto company in the United Kingdom, called SpaceChain, has disclosed information regarding a completed multi-signature BTC transaction made via Earth-orbiting hardware some two months ago.
The company’s hardware, which is hosted via the International Space Station (ISS) and features a private key for multi-signature verifications, authorized a transaction of 0.0099 BTC — currently valued at approximately 116.23, as per data provided by Coinbase and illustrated by Google at press time. According to an official blog post, the transfer was started by Jeff Garzik, SpaceChain’s Chief Technology Officer, who stated:
Executing the multisignature transaction in space encapsulates our continuous efforts in building out an open-source blockchain-based satellite network that is secure and immutable. SpaceChain aims to be the one-stop solutions provider for the integration of blockchain and space. As we continue to identify more use cases for blockchain-based satellite networks in space, we hope to bring blockchain to mass adoption.
The activity was supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Solutions as a Kick-start Activity.
Technically speaking, the International Space Station, which houses SpaceChain’s hardware, can only receive data from encrypted links to stations on Earth. It is currently not possible to send or receive data from other space crafts, though it is conceivably possible in the future.
SpaceChain is not the first crypto company to put Bitcoin in space.
Blockstream, a blockchain technology company, hosts a robust network of satellites that provide internet-free BTC transactions. The network was recently upgraded to increase the data rate by 25x, according to a May 4 announcement from Adam Back and Chris Cook, and affords users “the ability to sync a Bitcoin full node all the way from the genesis block up to today.”
As both Bitcoin and distributed ledger technology continue to advance, it stands to reason that space-age solutions for transacting with digital currency will continue to emerge.
Image source: Pixabay
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