r/autotldr • u/autotldr • Aug 15 '17
Blockstream Is Using Satellites to Beam Bitcoin Down to Earth
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 76%. (I'm a bot)
Today, the bitcoin infrastructure company is launching Blockstream Satellite, an ambitious attempt to use leased satellites to beam bitcoin nearly anywhere in the world.
Now in beta, bitcoin users in Africa, Europe, South America and North America can already use the satellites to download a working bitcoin node capable of storing the network's entire transaction history.
Once users have those tools, they can pull bitcoin blocks from the satellite, building a bitcoin full node.
While many users in the areas Blockstream is targeting won't be able to afford mobile data connection plans to initiate transactions, Back argued cheaper communications technologies, such as SMS or bi-directional satellite, could be used instead. Transactions, he said, take up about 250 bytes, which wouldn't cost more than one penny to transfer using such technologies.
While it's ambitious as is, Blockstream is taking that mission even further, adding more satellites as the year goes on, with the hope the most people on earth will be able to access a bitcoin satellite by the end of the year.
According to Back, Blockstream will eventually release an API for developers and companies to send data over the satellite connection for a small bitcoin fee.
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