Bitcoin Coder Garzik Signs Deal to Deploy ‘BitSats’ In Space

Bitcoin Coder Garzik Signs Deal to Deploy ‘BitSats’ In Space


Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik’s bold plan to put mini satellites into orbit to provide secure, remote backup for the digital currency’s growing store of critical data has taken a step close to becoming a reality.

Mr. Garzik’s company, Dunvegan Space Systems, announced Thursday that it has signed a contract with its partner, Deep Space Industries Inc., to build the first 24-unit constellation of “BitSats,” an idea it first unveiled nearly a year ago.

Dunvegan plans to have the BitSats keep a complete record of bitcoin’s ever-growing blockchain ledger, thus acting as crucial “full nodes” to backup bitcoin’s all-important core database at a time when the number of earth-based computers providing this vital storage service has declined.

Separately, Mr. Garzik said, Dunvegan will offer BitSats to paying customers, who would use them for proprietary data storage solutions and communications services. For such companies, which might choose a space-based operation for, among the reasons, keeping their most sensitive data physically removed from potential attackers, the company already has a price menu: $1 million for one BitSat, $19 million for a full 24-unit constellation.

This for-profit part of the business would monetize an operation that was initially conceived as a public utility aimed at securing bitcoin’s decentralized network.