The cryptocurrency community is speculating over the new product Blockstream has announced it will soon release.
In a teaser video about its project, Blockstream says it wants to “connect everyone on the planet” in the face of limited global Internet penetration and even more limited online freedom.
The video specifically shows a satellite orbiting Earth, along with some basic facts about Bitcoin. This, social media commentators are saying, suggests Bitcoin transactions broadcast via satellite.
“As [Elon Musk] & SpaceX revolutionized spaceflight, Blockstream will do the same for Bitcoin. It's coming,” CSO Samson Mow tweeted linking to the video.
As @elonmusk & @SpaceX revolutionized spaceflight, @Blockstream will do the same for #Bitcoin. It's coming. https://t.co/ernTyJDixx
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 14, 2017
Queries are already surfacing as to whether there is an official relationship between Blockstream and SpaceX, the latter aiming to launch thousands of satellites into space by around 2019.
Mow added today that more information would be available “soon” without expanding on a timeframe.
The idea of launching Bitcoin relay satellites is not new, with former Core developer Jeff Garzik’s BitSat scheme seeking to do just that in 2014 but since falling silent.
Blockstream contains some of the most well-known figures in Bitcoin, several of whom such as Luke-jr and Greg Maxwell also work on the cryptocurrency’s own technical integrity.
In May, the company sent the first ever Lightning Network transaction on Litecoin after the altcoin enabled SegWit.
