While Elon Musk’s recent statements have sparked a sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, his business SpaceX has teamed up with SpaceChain to deploy an Ethereum node to the International Space Station.
The First Ethereum Node Launched into Space
The project is being carried out as part of a collaboration with SpaceChain, a platform dedicated to bringing blockchain technology into space. In a blog post published on Friday, SpaceChain announced that an Ethereum node had launched a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceChain co-founder and CEO Zee Zhang expressed his excitement at the prospect of sending the Ethereum platform to space and demonstrating why a decentralized satellite infrastructure built with space technology is critical to realize the full potential of blockchain applications.
Nexus, an Australian digital asset management firm, will have immediate access to the node once it is attached to the International Space Station. For web-native customers, the financial business provides blockchain and Internet of Things solutions.
Ethereum Node
Its node in space further shows the immutability of Ethereum’s network. Blockchain nodes are utilized to verify transactions. The network gets substantially more difficult to attack as they get more spread. Nexus and other SpaceChain customers in the future will be able to utilize these nodes to increase the security of their digital assets. This space node may serve as a safe backup, thanks to SpaceChain’s custody solutions.
According to Zhang, Ethereum’s innovative contract platform operating in space can reinforce blockchain apps and transactions with increased security and immutability. Running Ethereum in space is a solid indicator of blockchain technology’s growing decentralization, critical to the technology’s objective of delivering an immutable, censorship-resistant network.
The package also contains a bunch of baby bobtail squid for scientific study, in addition to the Ethereum node.
Hypothesis about the launch
While some have hypothesized that SpaceX supporting the launch of an Ethereum node into space may indicate that Musk is shifting his emphasis to Ethereum, his recent Twitter activity has been more focused on Bitcoin and Dogecoin in recent months. Last night, Musk hinted at a breakup with Bitcoin in a tweet, sending the original cryptocurrency into freefall. Ethereum has also dropped; ETH is now down 5.2 percent.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the author had ETH and numerous other cryptocurrencies in his possession.