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2021-06-10

Space crypto race

It looks like a 21st century space race is brewing between Elon Musk and BitMEX, with both parties pledging to launch their chosen cryptocurrencies to the literal moon first.

On June 4, popular cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX announced that it will support space robotics company Astrobotic Technology in the company's mission to send the first commercial lander to the moon in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Noting that the mission is expected to be the first time "a private company leading a coalition of government, academia, industry and international partners reaches the lunar surface," BitMEX plans to capitalize on the opportunity by delivering a one-of-a-kind type of physical Bitcoin to the lunar surface. Referring to Musk as the "protagonist of Dogecoin," BitMEX added:

"We have nothing against Dog Money, we thought it was right to help Bitcoin get there first."

The announcement followed Elon Musk's initial news in May that SpaceX was planning to launch a Dogecoin-funded payload on one of its first rockets to the moon, claiming that DOGE would become the first cryptocurrency to reach lunar orbit next year.

Elon Musk responded to BitMEX's newfound astronomical ambitions on Twitter, announcing: "A new space race has begun!"

While the responses to Elon's tweet are largely his followers fighting for DOGE to win the crypto-space race, others have noted that there are more pressing issues on Earth than whether a particular crypto token will be the first to enter the orbit of another celestial body.