BitMEX, a leading bitcoin derivatives trading company, has announced that it will send the first physical bitcoin to the moon in partnership with Astrobotic Technology Inc. and Bitcoin Magazine. A rocket carrying a physical bitcoin wallet is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center this summer, marking a milestone for both space exploration and the bitcoin industry.
Bitcoin, which is engraved with a public address and private key, is loaded with 1 BTC and will become the first financial asset sent into space. This endeavor marks the exploration of Bitcoin use cases beyond the Earth and opens up possibilities for future interaction with the token. Stephan Lutz, Acting CEO and Group CFO of BitMEX, expressed his pride in the achievement, saying, “This is not only an achievement for BitMEX, but a breakthrough in human history.”
According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, the mission has undergone rigorous testing and preparation to ensure that the Bitcoin wallet is ready for spaceflight.
In addition to the physical bitcoin, the Genesis Block script, the first Bitcoin block ever mined, will be flown to the moon in honor of the Satoshi protocol. The Genesis Block will be displayed on a metal plate with raw hexadecimal data and a hologram of the Bitcoin Magazine logo.
A replica coin and Genesis Block metal plate placed on the “moon rock” will be auctioned in partnership with Bitcoin Magazine in Bitcoin 2023. In addition, a limited series of commemorative coins and ordinal numbers will be auctioned closer to the launch date.