The European Space Agency will support the development of a blockchain-based satellite project

Blockchain startup SpaceChain won a grant of € 60,000 from the European Space Agency (ESA) to explore options for using the blockchain-based satellite wallet system.

ESA grant contributes to SpaceChain’s efforts to launch an ultra-secure distributed satellite network supporting multi-signatures into orbit. The company has already conducted tests to launch blockchain nodes in space.

The technology uses a system with three signatures – two terrestrial and one orbital, which is performed from a satellite. Each transaction requires at least two of the three signatures.

SpaceChain co-founder and CEO Zee Zheng said his company’s satellite nodes are much safer than terrestrial networks that process transactions on the open Internet with data and protocol transfers over a direct line to the satellite.

“We don’t need access to the Internet to complete this kind of transaction, which eliminates many potential risks for hacking,” said Zheng. “We are talking about a market in which more than $ 1 billion in cryptocurrencies was stolen last year. It will be much more difficult for hackers to commit theft in our system. ”

Zheng called the ESA grant an opportunity for the cryptocurrency community to learn more about blockchain space applications. He noted the high interest of developers in improving security.

“We want to use this opportunity to demonstrate how space and blockchain can interact,” Zheng said.

Several companies are trying to combine blockchain and satellite technologies at once. The Blockstream Satellite service, which allows Bitcoin users to transfer cryptocurrency via leased satellites, was launched by the company in August 2017, and at the end of last year the service was expanded
to the Asia-Pacific region.