There is seemingly a technique to get Bitcoin from Earth to Mars in as little as three minutes utilizing already-available expertise. We simply want somebody, or one thing, to obtain it.
Late final month, tech entrepreneur Jose E. Puente and his colleague, Carlos Puente, printed a white paper unveiling Proof-of-Transit Timestamping — an idea he instructed Cointelegraph is the lacking piece wanted to make Bitcoin interplanetary.
The idea means that when a Bitcoin person desires to ship a fee to Mars sooner or later, the transaction might hop from the person by means of completely different stations, resembling floor antennas, satellites, or perhaps a relay across the Moon.
At every cease, the transaction is “stamped” earlier than persevering with till it reaches its vacation spot.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Puente stated PoTT serves because the “receipt layer” on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network whereas leveraging optical hyperlinks constructed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Elon Musk’s Starlink, or one other satellite tv for pc supplier.
“The expertise is basically prepared. The second there’s a secure Earth–Mars hyperlink, PoTT can experience on prime, making Bitcoin the primary forex to function cleanly throughout planets,” he stated.
“By simulating Mars-level delays, we might run a convincing end-to-end demo proper now.”
When up and working, Puente stated Bitcoin Lightning transfers might attain Mars in as little as three minutes, or so long as 22 minutes in a worst-case situation.
Addressing the two-week blackout interval on Mars that happens each 26 or so months, Puente stated an answer might “intentionally route across the Sun with relay satellites” to keep away from the blackout.
PoTT is like peculiar Bitcoin timestamping besides that it may lengthen to outer house and past, Puente defined.
“Imagine it’s 2050 and also you’re sending cash from Earth to your pal on Mars to assist pay for his or her hire. Because the planets are to this point aside, the message has to hop by means of completely different stations.”
“At every cease, that station stamps the message with the time it arrived and the time it left, like a passport getting stamped at each border crossing. By the time the message will get to Mars, you’ll be able to have a look at all of the stamps and see the precise path it took and when it moved.”
Puente stated PoTT may very well be examined in the present day.
Bitcoin has already made it to outer house
The idea builds on Blockstream’s work in December 2018, when it linked Bitcoin to 5 satellites to make outer house Bitcoin transactions potential. Then, in August 2020, Spacechain accomplished what it stated was the first Bitcoin transaction from the International Space Station, showcasing that Bitcoin (BTC) may be obtained away from Earth.
🚀 8 years of #Bitcoin in orbit. @Blockstream Satellite has beamed Bitcoin blocks, transactions, and knowledge from house 24/7, at no cost, to your complete planet.
From Earth to orbit… to in every single place. Thank you @adam3us! ⚡pic.twitter.com/rWmdzagRWM
— JAN3 (@JAN3com) August 15, 2025
Of course, for a Bitcoin transaction to happen on Mars, a human — or an AI — would have to be there, and that hasn’t occurred but. Only landers, orbiters and rovers from NASA and different house companies have explored Mars to date.
There would have to be somebody there keen to just accept Bitcoin, too. The Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin began accepting crypto — together with Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) — final month, however to this point they’ve solely made it previous the Kármán line, about 100 kilometers from Earth.
Musk additionally agrees that a normal cash is required
Musk’s SpaceX is trying to attain Mars by the top of 2026 with a long-term ambition to construct a self-sustaining metropolis there.
Like Puente, Musk agrees that a normal cash is required to transact between Earth and Mars. He beforehand expressed concern over Bitcoin’s 10-minute block instances, however that’s the place the Lightning Network comes into play, Puente stated.
“PoTT plus Lightning present the practicality Musk requested for: native velocity with international settlement that works throughout planets.”
After initially dismissing Bitcoin as an answer final January, he ultimately agreed that interplanetary funds may very well be extra possible by means of the Lightning Network.
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“If we’re severe a couple of multi-planet civilization, we’d like an open, impartial financial base that doesn’t rely on any single firm, authorities, or floor station,” Puente stated, making his case for Bitcoin as probably the most applicable interplanetary forex.
“That’s why we targeted on Bitcoin because the shared normal and designed PoTT as a sensible technique to transfer worth throughout huge distances whereas preserving accountability and particular person company.”
PoTT is constructed for all planets
Puente famous that PoTT was constructed to be planet-agnostic throughout a star’s liveable zone, which means the “journey receipts” it generates may very well be reached from transactions despatched to the Moon or every other planet.
He stated the analysis simply targeted on Earth and Mars as it’s the “cleanest near-time case research.”
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