BitMEX will mint a unique Bitcoin similar to 2013’s Casascius physical coins and it will be delivered to the lunar surface by the NASA-selected space company.
Bitcoin price has traded around $36K for the past few days. The asset is up approximately 1.59% in the past 24 hours according to Binance-backed Coinmarketcap. However, plans are underway to land Bitcoin on the physical moon. Notably, crypto exchange BitMEX announced on Friday its plans to deposit a single Bitcoin in a physical wallet on the surface of the moon.
Platitude phrases of certain cryptocurrencies going to the moon are often said by crypto enthusiasts in figurative support of their favorite asset. However, BitMEX aspires to do this literally in commemoration of the digital asset.
Bitcoin to the Moon
BitMEX plans to do this with help from Astrobotic Technology Inc., a major commercial space robotics company that BitMEX is funding. Currently, Astrobotic is putting efforts into developing a ‘Peregrine’ commercial lander for the upcoming bitcoin-lunar mission. BitMEX proudly pointed out that the mission is scheduled for Q4 just before the DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon scheduled for 2022 Q1.
In early May, SpaceX announced the DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon, which will be entirely funded by Dogecoin. Further, in its plans to take cryptocurrencies to the moon, SpaceX debuted an Ethereum node last Thursday and docked it on Saturday. History was written as this is the first time a crypto node was placed in space.
In reference to the above project, BitMEX stated:
“We’ve nothing against Dog Money, [but] we felt it was only right to help bitcoin get there first.”
BitMEX will mint a unique Bitcoin similar to 2013’s Casascius physical coins and it will be delivered to the lunar surface by the NASA-selected space company. The bitcoin will be placed beneath a tamper-evident hologram covering and its address will be released at a later date, according to the BitMEX statement. Displayed on the coin will be the name ‘BitMEX’, the mission name, the minting date, and the BTC price at the time of minting. Moreover, the exchange stated that photographic evidence of the first-ever bitcoin on the moon will be taken.
Alex Höptner, the BitMEX CEO, pointed out that there is a lot of talk about bitcoin going to the moon, but that BitMEX would do it.
These actions are among many others taken to endorse cryptocurrency. The latest is news of El Salvador becoming the first country in the world to make bitcoin a legal tender. Its President, Nayib Bukele, tweeted that with bitcoin having a market cap of $680 billion, investing 1% of it would increase his country’s GDP by 25%. It will also enable financial inclusion not only as a moral imperative, but also as a way of growing the country’s economy and providing access to secure transactions, savings, credit, and investment.
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