Bitcoin to Mars: transfers are now (theoretically) possible
Imagine sending Bitcoin from Earth to Mars. Sounds like something from a science fiction story, doesn’t it? A team of researchers says it could happen in as little as three minutes, using technology we already have. This new idea is all about something called “Proof-of-Transit Timestamping.”
Tech entrepreneur Jose E. Puente and his colleague, Carlos Puente, recently presented a document explaining this new system. According to Jose Puente, Bitcoin could become truly interplanetary if it introduced something called Proof-of-Transit Timestamping (PoTT).
Here’s how it would work: If someone on Earth wants to send a Bitcoin payment to Mars in the future, the transaction would go through various stations on its way – maybe ground antennas, satellites, or even a relay station orbiting the Moon. At each stop along its journey, the transaction gets a digital “stamp” with the exact time it arrived and departed, much like a passport being stamped at every border crossing. By the time the payment reaches its destination on Mars, you’ll have a clear and proven record of its journey.
Puente explained that PoTT would be like a “receipt layer” for Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, using high-speed optical communication links that organisations like NASA and Elon Musk’s Starlink are already developing. “The technology is basically ready,”. “When there’s a stable link between Earth and Mars, PoTT can ride on top. This will make Bitcoin the first currency to be used across planets.” He even suggested that showing how things work on Mars could be done now.
When fully operational, Puente estimates that Bitcoin Lightning Network transfers could reach Mars in a swift three minutes, or, in a worst-case scenario, up to 22 minutes. On average, a Lightning transaction would likely take between 12 and 15 minutes. For standard Bitcoin base layer transfers, you’d add the usual 10-minute block time to the signal delay. And what about the two-week blackout period that occurs on Mars every 26 months? Puente suggests that relay satellites could be strategically positioned to “deliberately route around the Sun” and avoid any communication interruptions.
This new concept builds upon previous achievements. Back in 2018, Blockstream successfully connected Bitcoin to five satellites, making space-based Bitcoin transactions a reality. Then, in 2020, Spacechain reportedly completed the first Bitcoin transaction from the International Space Station, demonstrating that Bitcoin can indeed be received far from Earth.
Of course, for a Bitcoin transaction to occur on Mars, someone (or something, like an AI) would need to be there to receive it. Currently, only robotic landers, orbiters, and rovers have explored the Red Planet. And while Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin recently started accepting various cryptocurrencies for space travel (though only past the Kármán line, a mere 100 kilometers from Earth), an actual Martian recipient willing to accept Bitcoin is still a futuristic prospect.
Interestingly, Elon Musk, whose SpaceX aims to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars, has also echoed the need for a standard currency for transactions between Earth and Mars. While he previously expressed concerns about Bitcoin’s 10-minute block times, Puente points out that the Lightning Network, coupled with PoTT, could provide the “local speed with global settlement that works across planets” that Musk envisions.
Puente emphasized the philosophical underpinnings of their research: “If we’re serious about a multi-planet civilization, we need an open, neutral monetary base that doesn’t depend on any single company, government, or ground station.” He believes Bitcoin fits this criteria perfectly, and PoTT offers a practical method to move value across vast cosmic distances while maintaining accountability.
The researchers designed PoTT to be “planet-agnostic” across a star’s habitable zone, meaning the same “travel receipts” could apply to transactions sent to the Moon or any other planet. Their current focus on Earth and Mars is simply because it represents the “cleanest near-time case study.” This ambitious vision pushes the boundaries of finance, suggesting that in the not-so-distant future, your digital wallet might truly have no borders.
