Space-X Will Accept Dogecoin as Payment for DOGE-1 Lunar Mission
Space-X has announced that it will accept Dogecoin as payment for next year’s DOGE-1 lunar mission. The company is set to carry out a commercial payload to the moon on its Falcon 9 rocket and will accept payments made via cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
Elon Musk’s Space X will launch the DOGE-1 mission to the lunar surface in the first quarter of 2022. Space X’s founder has time and again been vocal about his stance on cryptocurrency and a strong proponent of blockchain technology.
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Geometric Energy Corporation and Space X Collaboration
DOGE-1 is a typical CubeSat, a type of satellite that is widely used for space research. The mission’s objective is to gain lunar-spatial intelligence via sensors and cameras and will be sponsored by Geometric Energy Corporation. The satellite will be flown on Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket in the early months of 2022.
The announcement comes at a time when Dogecoin’s price has been fluctuating due to a series of events. Besides, over the weekend, the cryptocurrency’s value fell further than expected after Elon Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live and called Dogecoin a “hustle”.
Word in the market suggests that the announcement regarding the DOGE-1 mission was made to combat the negative speculation around Dogecoin.
Space X Vice President of commercial sales said “We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon”. Besides, he also said that the partnership with Geometric Energy Corporation will lay the groundwork for interplanetary commerce.
If things go as planned, Dogecoin will become the first space mission to be completely financed using cryptocurrency.
What is Dogecoin?
Similar to other virtual currencies Ethereum and Bitcoin, Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2013 by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus.
Dogecoin is primarily based on the “Doge” meme and was started as an alternative to Bitcoin.
Over the past few weeks, Dogecoin’s value has been soaring and as of now, it is now valued at around $34 billion according to market data site, CoinGecko.
Why is Dogecoin Rising??
One of the major factors that have led to a significant rise in the value of Dogecoin is the public listing of Coinbase, one of the most popular virtual currency exchanges in the United States.
Following Coinbase’s announcement of going public last week, prices of other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have also spiked. Dogecoin is believed to be caught in this mess.
One of the other reasons for Dogecoin’s recent popularity is a Reddit group known as SatoshiStreetBets. In this group, the members created hype around Dogecoin in a similar manner that influenced the growth of Gamestop stocks a couple of months ago.
Image Source: Steve Jurvetson used under the license Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
