Creating more use cases for Bitcoin and digital currency is not an easy feat, despite many people craving to use it for everyday purchases. While there are several ways to go about that matter, by using one or multiple workarounds, Bitcoin is mostly used to buy expensive and, sometimes, even eccentric items, such as a ticket to space, perhaps?
Bitcoin To The Moon!
If you have been involved in the world of Bitcoin for some time now, you will have encountered the saying, “to the moon!”, on more than one occasion. This has nothing to do with physically going to the moon, rather, it is an expression of hope of seeing Bitcoin prices shooting through the roof.
When that price spike actually did take place in 2013 – you know, when Bitcoin hit US$1176 on BitFinex – many people, literally, saw the price go to the moon. Unfortunately, for us Bitcoin enthusiasts, that price point was merely artificial and many blame it on a trading bot operated on the now defunct Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange platform.
That is all in the past now, though, as this time it seems like you literally can use Bitcoin to go to the moon. Or, to be more precise, go to space at least, which is close enough for most people. The one space company everyone in the world has heard of is called Virgin Galactic, owned by Richard Branson. And, it’s not the first time that company has been linked to Bitcoin either.
Virgin Galactic Accepts Bitcoin
A few months ago, Virgin Galactic announced that they had started accepting Bitcoin payments to book your very own flight into space. That is, if you are wealthy enough to afford a ticket, as there is no special discount for paying in digital currency. With ticket prices sitting around the £150,000 GBP mark, it takes quite a few BTC to get your ticket secured.
It has to be said, however, that travelling to space – even if it is on a commercial flight – is always a huge risk. The stars and the wonders beyond never cease to tickle our imagination, but, you need a certain level of training to survive in space. Astronauts are not being trained for lengthy periods of time for no reason.
What may come as a bit of a surprise to our readers, is the fact that several Virgin Galactic tickets have been booked with, and paid for in Bitcoin already. No official numbers have been disclosed at this point in time, so, it is hard to judge how many tickets we are talking about, exactly. Plus, we literally have no idea who would spend £150,000 GBP in BTC to risk their life in space.
Despite their failed first test of launching a Virgin Galactic spaceship – the co-pilot was killed during the crash – Richard Branson has not given up his dream of commercializing space travel. In fact, the company plan to run a new test in the very near future which will, hopefully, give us a better indication in regards to progress being made.
Source: Londonerschoice
Images courtesy of Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic
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