Le Bitcoin décolle ! L'ère de l'extraction spatiale commence, Mars pourra également recevoir des paiements

Supported by Nvidia, the new space data center startup Starcloud announced that its second spacecraft will be launched later this year, at which point the company will begin mining Bitcoin in Earth’s orbit, becoming the first company in human history to mine Bitcoin outside of Earth. Meanwhile, space cryptocurrency researchers have proposed a theoretical framework for sending Bitcoin transactions to Mars. Although local mining on Mars is currently unfeasible, receiving payments is technically possible.

Starcloud’s Space Mining Plan: The First ASIC Mine Outside Earth

Founded in early 2024, Starcloud’s initial goal was to build space data centers to meet the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence. In November last year, the company successfully launched a satellite equipped with Nvidia H100 GPUs into orbit, marking the first time such high-performance GPUs have operated in space. The entire data center plan involves approximately 88,000 satellites, mainly powered by solar energy.

Johnston stated that operating Bitcoin ASIC miners in space would be one of the most attractive applications of space computing, as the abundant and nearly free solar energy in space, combined with low-cost ASIC hardware, would make Bitcoin mining economically far more viable than on Earth. He directly pointed out on X: “Bitcoin mining consumes about 20 gigawatts of electricity continuously. Mining on Earth is pointless; ultimately, all of this will take place in space.”

Why is Space Bitcoin Mining 30 Times Cheaper Than on Earth? ASIC vs GPU Cost Gap

Johnston’s core argument is based on the stark difference in hardware costs between ASICs and GPUs:

• GPU Cost: About $30,000 for a 1 kW B200 chip
• ASIC Cost: About $1,000 for a 1 kW ASIC chip
• Cost Difference: Approximately 30 times more expensive for GPU per kilowatt

This gap is especially critical in space scenarios. Although the cost per kilogram for launching into space remains high, companies like SpaceX are continuously reducing launch costs. Lightweight, low-cost ASIC miners will have a significant deployment cost advantage over GPUs. Johnston believes that the free solar energy in space, combined with extremely low-cost ASIC hardware, makes the long-term economic model for space Bitcoin mining highly feasible.

Bitcoin and Mars: 3-Minute Transfer Theory, Mining Delay Still a Major Obstacle

Another fascinating prospect in space cryptocurrency is transmitting Bitcoin transactions to Mars. Entrepreneurs Jose E. Puente and Carlos Puente stated to Cointelegraph last September that, in theory, using NASA or Starlink optical links combined with a new interstellar timestamp system, Bitcoin transactions could be sent to Mars in just three minutes. Routing would involve space stations, antennas, satellites, and even lunar relay stations.

However, local Bitcoin mining on Mars remains a distant goal. Bitcoin mining requires miners to verify blocks nearly simultaneously worldwide, but communication delays between Mars and Earth range from several minutes up to twenty minutes. This makes it impossible for any Mars-based mining machine to complete proof-of-work calculations within an effective time window—receiving payments is feasible, but mining is currently not.

Current Mining Environment

While Starcloud announced its space mining plans, the terrestrial mining industry is also facing cyclical pressures. Bitcoin is currently around $67,336, down about 48% from its all-time high of $126,080 on October 6 last year, leading to narrower profit margins for miners.

The good news is that mining difficulty has decreased by about 7% from its November peak of 155.9 trillion units to 145 trillion units, providing miners with a brief respite.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will Starcloud’s space Bitcoin mining officially start?

According to CEO Philip Johnston, the company’s second spacecraft will be launched “later this year,” at which point Bitcoin mining will commence in orbit. The exact launch date has not been announced. The first spacecraft successfully carried Nvidia H100 GPUs into orbit last November, marking a technical milestone for this Bitcoin mining plan.

Is space Bitcoin mining really more cost-effective than on Earth?

Based on Johnston’s analysis, the hardware cost of ASIC miners is about one-thirtieth that of GPUs per kilowatt. Coupled with the abundant solar energy in space, this could theoretically significantly reduce marginal mining costs. However, factors such as launch costs, satellite maintenance, and interstellar communication delays still need to be included in overall economic models. There is currently no commercial-scale operational data to verify this.

Can Bitcoin transactions really reach Mars in 3 minutes?

In theory, yes. Research by Jose E. Puente and Carlos Puente shows that using optical communication links (Starlink or NASA deep space networks) combined with interstellar timestamp systems, Bitcoin transaction data could be transmitted from Earth to Mars in about three minutes. However, this system requires deploying receiving infrastructure on Mars, and local mining on Mars remains unfeasible due to communication delays.