Sending Bitcoin to Mars is now theoretically possible: Researchers

2025-09-11 16:27:39 Primitive Reading

There is apparently a way to get Bitcoin from Earth to Mars in as little as three minutes using already-available technology. We just need someone, or something, to receive it.

Late last month, tech entrepreneur Jose E. Puente and his colleague, Carlos Puente, published a white paper unveiling Proof-of-Transit Timestamping — a concept he told Cointelegraph is the missing piece needed to make Bitcoin interplanetary.

The concept suggests that when a Bitcoin user wants to send a payment to Mars in the future, the transaction could hop from the user through different stations, such as ground antennas, satellites, or even a relay around the Moon.

At each stop, the transaction is “stamped” before continuing until it reaches its destination.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Puente said PoTT serves as the “receipt layer” on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network while leveraging optical links built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Elon Musk’s Starlink, or another satellite provider.

“The technology is essentially ready. The moment there’s a stable Earth–Mars link, PoTT can ride on top, making Bitcoin the first currency to operate cleanly across planets,” he said.

“By simulating Mars-level delays, we could run a convincing end-to-end demo right now.”

A NASA rover recently came across some rocks on Mars that might be evidence of past life. Source: NASA Mars

When up and running, Puente said Bitcoin Lightning transfers could reach Mars in as little as three minutes, or as long as 22 minutes in a worst-case scenario.

Addressing the two-week blackout period on Mars that occurs every 26 or so months, Puente said a solution could “deliberately route around the Sun with relay satellites” to avoid the blackout.

PoTT is like ordinary Bitcoin timestamping except that it can extend to outer space and beyond, Puente explained.

“Imagine it’s 2050 and you’re sending money from Earth to your friend on Mars to help pay for their rent. Because the planets are so far apart, the message has to hop through different stations.”

“At each stop, that station stamps the message with the time it arrived and the time it left, like a passport getting stamped at every border crossing. By the time the message gets to Mars, you can look at all the stamps and see the exact path it took and when it moved.”

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