Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd has said large-scale extraterrestrial Bitcoin mining is “not as crazy as it sounds.”
Retweeting economist Max Keiser, who suggested “many satellite systems” will soon compete in the area, Todd added space-age mining had economic advantages.
“[It’s] a lot cheaper to beam solar power collected in space back to Earth in the form of blocks than as electricity,” he wrote Tuesday.
Not as crazy as it sounds: a lot cheaper to beam solar power collected in space back to Earth in the form of blocks than as electricity. https://t.co/GWeby2f9ce
— Peter Todd (@petertoddbtc) August 16, 2017
Keiser, who remains infamously bullish on Bitcoin compared to traditional assets, said rocket costs were destined to be next to nothing.
The debate comes the same week as Blockstream, a company which includes some of the biggest names in Bitcoin technical circles, hinted it would be looking to space once it unveils its flagship product.
“It’s coming,” CSO Samson Mow announced on Twitter Monday, while the industry awaits further details.
A promotional video for the release included a satellite orbiting Earth, leading to speculation on social media that extraterrestrial block information could soon arrive.
Meanwhile, Todd cautioned on the possible security implications of a vast increase in the size of space involved in making the Bitcoin network run.
“[...] It could be very harmful to Bitcoin too: 10mins isn't long enough to get consensus across the solar system,” he added.