Sending Bitcoin to Mars is now theoretically possible: Researchers

There is seemingly a mode to get Bitcoin from Earth to Mars successful arsenic small arsenic 3 minutes utilizing already-available technology. We conscionable request someone, oregon something, to person it. 

Late past month, tech entrepreneur Jose E. Puente and his colleague, Carlos Puente, published a white paper unveiling Proof-of-Transit Timestamping — a conception helium told Cointelegraph is the missing portion needed to marque Bitcoin interplanetary. 

The conception suggests that erstwhile a Bitcoin idiosyncratic wants to nonstop a outgo to Mars successful the future, the transaction could hop from the idiosyncratic done antithetic stations, specified arsenic crushed antennas, satellites, oregon adjacent a relay astir the Moon. 

At each stop, the transaction is “stamped” earlier continuing until it reaches its destination. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Puente said PoTT serves arsenic the “receipt layer” connected Bitcoin and the Lightning Network portion leveraging optical links built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Elon Musk’s Starlink, oregon different outer provider.

“The exertion is fundamentally ready. The infinitesimal there’s a unchangeable Earth–Mars link, PoTT tin thrust connected top, making Bitcoin the archetypal currency to run cleanly crossed planets,” helium said. 

“By simulating Mars-level delays, we could tally a convincing end-to-end demo close now.”

A NASA rover precocious came crossed immoderate rocks connected Mars that mightiness beryllium grounds of past life. Source: NASA Mars

When up and running, Puente said Bitcoin Lightning transfers could scope Mars successful arsenic small arsenic 3 minutes, oregon arsenic agelong arsenic 22 minutes successful a worst-case scenario. 

Addressing the two-week blackout play connected Mars that occurs each 26 oregon truthful months, Puente said a solution could “deliberately way astir the Sun with relay satellites” to debar the blackout.

PoTT is similar mean Bitcoin timestamping but that it tin widen to outer abstraction and beyond, Puente explained.

“Imagine it’s 2050 and you’re sending wealth from Earth to your person connected Mars to assistance wage for their rent. Because the planets are truthful acold apart, the connection has to hop done antithetic stations.”

“At each stop, that presumption stamps the connection with the clip it arrived and the clip it left, similar a passport getting stamped astatine each borderline crossing. By the clip the connection gets to Mars, you tin look astatine each the stamps and spot the nonstop way it took and erstwhile it moved.”

Puente said PoTT could beryllium tested today.

Bitcoin has already made it to outer space

The conception builds connected Blockstream’s enactment successful December 2018, erstwhile it connected Bitcoin to 5 satellites to marque outer abstraction Bitcoin transactions possible. Then, successful August 2020, Spacechain completed what it said was the first Bitcoin transaction from the International Space Station, showcasing that Bitcoin (BTC) tin beryllium received distant from Earth.

— JAN3 (@JAN3com) August 15, 2025

Of course, for a Bitcoin transaction to hap connected Mars, a quality — oregon an AI — would request to beryllium there, and that hasn’t happened yet. Only landers, orbiters and rovers from NASA and different abstraction agencies person explored Mars frankincense far.

There would request to beryllium idiosyncratic determination consenting to judge Bitcoin, too. The Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin started accepting crypto — including Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) — past month, but truthful acold they’ve lone made it past the Kármán line, astir 100 kilometers from Earth.

Musk besides agrees that a modular wealth is needed

Musk’s SpaceX is looking to scope Mars by the extremity of 2026 with a semipermanent ambition to physique a self-sustaining metropolis there.

Like Puente, Musk agrees that a modular wealth is needed to transact betwixt Earth and Mars. He antecedently expressed interest over Bitcoin’s 10-minute artifact times, but that’s wherever the Lightning Network comes into play, Puente said.

“PoTT positive Lightning supply the practicality Musk asked for: section velocity with planetary colony that works crossed planets.”

After initially dismissing Bitcoin arsenic a solution past January, helium yet agreed that interplanetary payments could beryllium much feasible done the Lightning Network.

Related: Crypto astatine a crossroads: Real-world inferior and the combat for wide rules

Diagram showing however PoTT would facilitate a Bitcoin transaction sent from Earth to Mars. Source: arXiv

“If we’re superior astir a multi-planet civilization, we request an open, neutral monetary basal that doesn’t beryllium connected immoderate azygous company, government, oregon crushed station,” Puente said, making his lawsuit for Bitcoin arsenic the astir due interplanetary currency.

“That’s wherefore we focused connected Bitcoin arsenic the shared modular and designed PoTT arsenic a applicable mode to determination worth crossed immense distances portion preserving accountability and idiosyncratic agency.”

PoTT is built for each planets

Puente noted that PoTT was built to beryllium planet-agnostic crossed a star’s habitable zone, meaning the “travel receipts” it generates could beryllium reached from transactions sent to the Moon oregon immoderate different planet.

He said the research  conscionable focused connected Earth and Mars arsenic it is the “cleanest near-time lawsuit study.”

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