Jeff Bezos' Space Tech Company Makes Surprising Bitcoin Bet
Billionaire entrepreneur and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space exploration company Blue Origin has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments.
Blue Origin announced on Aug. 11 that it has partnered with a payments firm called Shift4 Payments, Inc. to let customers pay in cryptocurrency and stablecoins for space trips.
Customers can pay with crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDT, and USDC for trips to space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard. They can connect leading crypto wallets like Coinbase and MetaMask to ensure instant, direct, and secure payment processing.
Shift4 CEO Taylor Lauber said, “Together with Blue Origin, we are making space accessible to explorers around the globe. This partnership will enable adventurous travelers to book the adventure of a lifetime, no matter their preferred payment method - all with a simple, frictionless experience."
The newly available payment option is open immediately for all upcoming commercial spaceflight bookings on Blue Origin’s New Shepard as demand for quick and secure crypto payments grows. More than 75 individuals have boarded the rocket to reach past the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary into space.
Recently, Justin Sun, the billionaire founder of the crypto firm Tron Inc., recently made a spaceflight aboard the Blue Origin. Recently, there was speculation around Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the billionaire founder of the Binance crypto exchange, making the same flight.
CZ, however, said he will attempt a space flight only after Tesla owner Elon Musk flies to space.
While the worlds of space technology and crypto finance have often collided, the integration of crypto payments is a landmark step further.
This article has been published in thestreet.com via Yahoo News.
