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- Proof-of-Transit Timestamping could make Bitcoin transactions between Earth and Mars possible in three to twenty-two minutes.
- The system uses satellites and relays to stamp transactions and provide a verifiable receipt trail across space.
Tech entrepreneur Jose E. Puente and his colleague Carlos Puente have disclosed a technique that could enable Bitcoin transactions between Earth and Mars in minutes. Their proposal, Proof-of-Transit Timestamping (PoTT), aims to expand Bitcoin’s reach beyond Earth using the existing space communication infrastructure.
PoTT stamps the Bitcoin transactions as they pass through different communication stations. Signals could go through ground antennas, satellites, lunar relays, or deep space links. Each relay appends a time stamp to it, like a digital passport, until it arrives at its final destination.
Puente described PoTT as the “receipt layer” for Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. He said the method can be implemented on optical links already developed by the space agency or private satellite providers like SpaceX’s Starlink. According to the concept, once a stable Earth-Mars comm channel is in place, Lightning transactions could take as little as three minutes, with a maximum of 22 minutes under poor conditions.
The researchers also considered challenges like the two-week-long blackout caused by solar conjunctions, suggesting instead that relays strategically stationed around the Sun could ensure continuity of transactions.
From Space Experiments to Mars Settlements
PoTT follows on from previous efforts to extend Bitcoin to outer space. In 2018, Blockstream connected Bitcoin to satellites to increase transaction resiliency. Two years later, SpaceChain carried out what it called the first-ever Bitcoin transaction from the International Space Station.
Puente said that while nobody on Mars can receive Bitcoin yet, the technology is mature enough to run a simulation. He stressed that the system was designed to be planet agnostic, meaning that it could support transactions not just with Mars, but the Moon or other planets in a star’s habitable zone. He argued the necessity of an open and neutral monetary system for interplanetary civilization, and Bitcoin is the best candidate to fulfill the job because of its decentralized nature.
Elon Musk, who previously said he doubted using Bitcoin on Mars because of block times of 10 minutes, has changed his tune. During a discussion on Bitcoin ETFs, he acknowledged that cryptocurrency could be crucial for Martian colonies.
Elon answers what money he would use on Mars: pic.twitter.com/VJQeIM0qqJ
— Sam Callahan (@samcallah) January 11, 2024
While initially skeptical, Musk saw that Lightning could solve the reconciliation problem, benefiting local speed and global settlement. Puente echoed this view, noting that PoTT, in conjunction with Lightning, delivers exactly what Musk envisioned – fast, verifiable payments across planets. The larger concept is tied to Musk’s long-running plans for a Mars settlement by 2050, which he believes will require an industry standard for money.
Bitcoin as a Currency Beyond Earth
Although commercial use on Mars is not yet possible, momentum for crypto in space has already started. Companies such as Blue Origin have accepted crypto payments for suborbital flights, while auction houses like Sotheby’s have made martian meteorites available in Bitcoin.
Puente’s white paper makes the case that the infrastructure for interplanetary Bitcoin transfers is already within reach. What is left are the settlements of human/artificial intelligence on Mars that are willing to honor the currency.
By creating a timestamped receipt trail across nodes in space, PoTT offers a practical model for secure financial transactions between worlds. If adopted, it would mark a milestone in both digital finance and humanity’s expansion into space.
