Although CEO of SpaceX and Telsa Motors Elon Musk has been criticising the crypto world, SpaceX has sent an Ethereum (ETH) node to the globally famous International Space Station (ISS) with help from blockchain software company SpaceChain, ETH gaining about 5% over the past 24 hours.
The Launch
On Friday, the 4th of June, SpaceChain announced the launch of their ETH technology into space through a Medium post. The launch was from NASA's Kennedy Space Center within a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, heading towards the ISS. The mission was powered by private in-space services company Nanoracks, having a Space Act Agreement with NASA. This launch is the fourth that SpaceChain has done, but the first for ETH technology integration within the ISS. Nexus Inc (Nexus) is expected as the first customer to have direct access to the ETH node.
On the topic of the launch, co-founder and CEO of SpaceChain Zee Zhang responded with the following:
We are thrilled in bringing the Ethereum platform to space and validating why a decentralized satellite infrastructure created with space technologies is vital to realizing the full potential of blockchain applications. We launched a payload for bitcoin back in 2019 and today we are launching our second-generation payload with Ethereum. Bitcoin and Ethereum represent the two biggest ecosystems in the blockchain industry. With Ethereum’s smart contract platform running in outer space, it enables us to fortify blockchain applications and transactions with enhanced security and immutability and allows more users and developers to get involved with our technology.
The quote provided above effectively summarises the fundamentals of the launch, also mentioning a payload sent for BTC in 2019.
On the topic of ETH in space, SpaceChain co-founder and CTO Jeff Garzik explain simply the reasons and benefits behind it. His response goes as follows:
Running Ethereum in space provides enhanced security and immutability for developing decentralized applications and transacting digital assets, which is pivotal to advancing the adoption of Enterprise Ethereum among organizations. Ethereum and blockchain technologies are decentralized by nature. The integration of technologies can help address security and vulnerability issues facing centralized land-based servers on Earth, and unfurl new and exciting opportunities for other commercial use cases.
The launching of an ETH node into space indicates the importance of crypto technology for humanity. It brings out ideas about expanding technology even further out of space, including the Moon and perhaps even Mars. With Mars, SpaceX may be planning to do something about crypto on it, Elon Musk being passionate and wild about Dogecoin (DOGE) could mean putting DOGE technology on Mars. The launch also put forward the idea of humanity expanding out into space, the ISS being thought of as the headquarters to moving out into the space world.
With the ISS containing a range of technology and products that present the development of humanity into space, having an ETH node tells something about how crypto will have a role to play within space exploration and colonisation. Whether or not it would be the future currency of the galactical world is a great question, and exciting no matter what result it comes to. If yes, what crypto and how would it be integrated into the space society? If no, then what instead?
In simple, the launch puts crypto one step forward in the world, an important aspect of humanity and its future.
Briefing On ETH's Trends
Taking a look at the year trend of ETH, a lot can be pointed out about ETH's trends. The most important section to scope into for the present and future of ETH is from May onwards in the graph. The pump and dump ETH experience from mid-April to mid-May is an almost symmetrical hump, each rise/fall similarly corresponding on the other side, which is surprising considering the volatility of the crypto market. Since the dump, ETH appears now to have become resistant to any further crashes, sitting consistently over $2000.
From the dump until now, ETH has had a rise and fall in a failed recovery, but the second attempt of recovery for ETH appears hopeful, which is the current situation of ETH. With the first attempt, ETH reached a peak of about $2900 but then fell to roughly its original position at approximately $2300. However, with the now second attempt of recovery, ETH has reached close to its first peak and fell, but not to its original low, but only a small dip. Now that dip has been recovered, ETH back at the peak made before, and this suggested a higher resistance being made.
From the logic from the trend, it can be expected that ETH will soon have a bullish run as it recovers, facing some decent falls along the way, though not so severe as to cause a mass crash as has happened in April to May.
The current statistics of ETH are as follows:
Price - $2828.91
24h Price change - $134.36
24h low / 24h high - $2,657.99 / $2,838.58
24h Trading volume - $25,957,843,217.93 (-8.58%)
Market dominance - 19.54%
Market rank - 2nd
Further Reading
Crypto Briefing - SpaceX Launches Flight to ISS with Ethereum Node - https://cryptobriefing.com/spacex-heads-iss-ethereum-node/
The Science Times - SpaceX to Deploy First Ethereum Node to ISS in Collaboration with SpaceChain - https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/31489/20210601/spacex-to-deploy-first-ethereum-node-to-iss-in-collaboration-with-spacechain.htm
Medium (SpaceChain Foundation) - SpaceChain Empowers Customers With Highly Secure On-orbit Ethereum Multisignature Transaction Services on the International Space Station - https://medium.com/blogspacechain/spacechain-empowers-customers-with-highly-secure-on-orbit-ethereum-multisignature-transaction-f9d2035cf834
Wikipedia - Nanoracks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanoracks
