Engineers Propose Method for Sending Bitcoin to Mars

They developed a concept called Proof-of-Transit Timestamping.

Researchers Jose Puente and Carlos Puente published a white paper on the concept of Proof-of-Transit Timestamping (PoTT). This concept allows the transfer of the first cryptocurrency from Earth to Mars in three minutes.

According to the proposal, during an interplanetary transaction, the operation would pass through ground antennas, satellites, and lunar relays, receiving timestamps at each stage. 

“Imagine it is the year 2050, and you are sending money from Earth to a friend on Mars to help pay their rent. Due to the vast distance between the planets, the message must pass through several stations. At each one, it will receive stamps of arrival and departure times—just like a passport at a border crossing. When the message reaches Mars, all these stamps will allow the path and time of travel to be accurately tracked,” explained Jose Puente. 

PoTT functions as a confirmation layer for transfers in digital gold networks and the Lightning Network, utilizing optical communication channels created by NASA and Elon Musk’s Starlink. According to the developers, the concept is ready for implementation. 

“Once stable communication between Earth and Mars is established, PoTT can operate over it, making bitcoin the first interplanetary currency,” the researcher emphasized. 

He added that the project creators can simulate a demo test, mimicking the delays characteristic of Martian communication. When fully operational, transfers via the Lightning Network could reach Mars in three minutes, or up to 22 minutes in the worst-case scenario.

The authors of the concept proposed solving the problem of two-week eclipse periods with orbiting satellite relays.

Bitcoin Has Already Been Sent to Space 

In December 2018, blockchain company Blockstream launched a satellite network that enabled bitcoin transactions through space. 

🚀 8 years of #Bitcoin in orbit. @Blockstream Satellite has beamed Bitcoin blocks, transactions, and data from space 24/7, for free, to the entire planet.

From Earth to orbit… to everywhere. Thank you @adam3us! ⚡pic.twitter.com/rWmdzagRWM

— JAN3 (@JAN3com) August 15, 2025

In 2020, the startup Spacechain transferred digital gold directly from the International Space Station. 

In July of the same year, renowned Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield received his first bitcoins from a satellite orbiting 35,000 km from Earth. As NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield noted, blockchain could play a role in the exploration of the Solar System. 

For crypto transfers on Mars, a human or artificial intelligence must be present, which has not yet occurred. To date, the Red Planet has only been explored by landers, orbiters, and rovers from NASA and other space agencies. 

In August this year, Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin began accepting digital assets—bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDT, and USDC. However, the company’s ships have only crossed the Kármán line, located about 100 km from Earth.

Back in January last year, billionaire Elon Musk suggested the use of cryptocurrencies as a currency on Mars.