Cryptocurrency company sends mining machines into space for mining

A cryptocurrency mining company that sent a hot air balloon equipped with mining machines to the edge of space at an altitude of 35,000 meters to mine cryptocurrencies also shared its findings on the price of Bitcoin this year.

Space mining PR show

Miner One sent "a high-altitude balloon equipped with Bitcoin mining equipment" on Monday, which is called "Space Miner 1 (SMO)". The organization said that they are neither a mining pool nor a cloud mining company, but a "community that wants to mine for profit." The team is "very bullish on Bitcoin", so this move implies that "the price of Bitcoin will exceed 35,000."

The large balloon is made of latex, filled with helium and has a parachute. On top of the balloon is an ASIC mining device, including two ASIC USB Block Erupter miners connected to "a Raspberry Pi 3 microcomputer, a battery and a satellite phone", all placed in a carbon fiber SMO sealed container... and a Bitcoin medallion that will be given to the lucky winner of the Miner One draw.

The balloon also carries "independently powered navigation and tracking equipment as well as thermal insulation and temperature regulators to protect it from extreme temperatures."

Space Miner 1 passes through the troposphere; the ASIC is activated and connected to the network through a satellite transmitter… Once Space Miner 1 enters the stratosphere, the decreasing air pressure will expand the diameter of the balloon from 2.2 meters to more than 10 meters, large enough to be seen from the ground.

Before the descent, "the balloon will be exploded, the parachute will deploy, and Space Miner 1 will begin its return to Earth." The duration of the journey is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, the team explained.

"Space Miner 1 rose to an altitude of 35,000 meters (about 21.75 miles) while mining Bitcoins, then descended back to Earth and successfully landed in an open area in Lithuania to be recovered."

Space Miner 1 ascends to the stratosphere

As SpaceX and other aerospace companies lower the price of launching commercial satellites, the prospect of mining bitcoin above the atmosphere has become increasingly attractive to venture capitalists and mining companies.

Last August, Bitcoin developer Peter Todd pointed out that the third benefit of space mining is that it may be a more economical way to use energy in orbit. It is cheaper to collect solar energy in space and send it back to Earth for mining than to generate electricity.

Although the Space Miner 1 mission does not include any solar panels, it can take advantage of the low temperatures in the stratosphere and use a satellite phone to communicate with the ground during mining. Due to the mission time of 2.5 hours and the mining power of the Block Erupter miner is only 330 Mh/s, it is unlikely that Space Miner 1 will mine 1 satoshi. However, this mission can still be regarded as a proof of concept for mining Bitcoin in space.

Bullish on Bitcoin

Pranas Slusnys, CEO of Miner One, said:

We are bullish on Bitcoin because it remains the world's most popular digital currency and a proven application of blockchain technology. Despite the current market downturn, we believe that people's interest and application of Bitcoin will continue to grow.

Miner One also shared a survey the company conducted among 1,500 community members. “More than 31% believe that the price of Bitcoin will exceed $15,000 this year, 26% believe it will exceed $25,000, and 10% believe it will exceed $35,000.”

Editor-in-charge: He Kailing