SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk believes that the economy on the red planet will run on cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, dogecoin, or marscoin. This opinion came after the affirmative answer by Musk on Twitter to the question about the use of cryptocurrencies on Mars as part of a discussion started by Lex Friedman.
According to the study “Bitcoin Astronomy” by Dhruv Bansal, a Bitcoin transaction from Earth to Mars will take only 6.5 minutes. Since Bitcoin’s Block-times are 10 minutes, traveling such a long distance won’t be a big problem. Especially when using the Lightning Network or its analogues.
If this becomes a reality, then two planets can use one common currency, and thus connect the economies. If 1000 starships really fly to Mars with a hundred people on board each, then the first cryptocurrency economy will start with 100,000 people. A prototype of the future spacecraft was tested this month during a 12.5 km flight. If everything goes according to plan, the first person will be sent to Mars in 2024.
If they manage to implement bitcoin transfer between planets, this will open up opportunities for communication with representatives of the first expedition. In the meantime, it remains only to be surprised at the ambitions and plans of mankind, which should be implemented in the next few years.
