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Space Startup Eyes Bitcoin Mining in Orbit
A decade ago, if someone told you civilisation was on the cusp of mining Bitcoin in space, they’d probably respond with: ‘What’s Bitcoin?’.
Yet, fast-forward to 2026, and not only has Bitcoin become an almost universally-known asset among modern finance, but companies are now exploring whether it can be mined in space.
Starcloud, an ambitious Washington-based startup, has already deployed several functional data centres to space since it was founded in 2024. In fact, last year the company became the first to ship and train an LLM entirely off-planet.
Earth’s resources are scarce – and as the prevalence of artificial intelligence and other modern, process-heavy technologies grows, the strain on our systems may become more apparent. Sustainability is core to Starcloud’s vision, and they’ve now turned to cryptocurrency to see if interstellar blockchain mining is feasible.
If so, this could address one of the core criticisms of Bitcoin; its hefty energy expenditure.
There are several potential advantages to orbital data processing. For one, there’s near-unlimited access to solar power. On top of that, the vacuum of space allows radiative cooling, supplanting the expensive and intensive climate control systems used on our planet – all the while shifting energy usage off Earth’s grid.
Naturally, mining Bitcoin in space comes with several complex engineering difficulties that may prove too much to overcome. However, we may find out as soon as this year, with Starcloud planning to launch its next satellite, Starcloud-2, in 2026. On board Starcloud-2 will be – you guessed it – a specialised mining rig with the sole purpose of accumulating Bitcoin.
So while it’s not quite what the crypto community meant when the phrase first went viral, Bitcoin may finally be (sort of) going to the moon.
Mastercard pushes further into digital assets
Mastercard is launching a Crypto Partner Program, comprising over 85 companies entrenched within the Web3 space – including exchanges, DeFi protocols, blockchain developers and TradFi institutions. Included in this list are big industry players such as PayPal, Binance, Solana and Ripple.
The purpose of Mastercard’s project, announced on March the 12th, is to address integration difficulties between existing financial rails and the evolving digital assets ecosystem. The network of companies will primarily explore how to best build and manage infrastructure that facilitates on-chain payments using traditional payment services – like Mastercard itself.
The project is yet another step toward building a world where TradFi and DeFi systems co-exist and complement one another, rather than the ‘one-or-the-other’ mentality often adopted in crypto’s infancy. Mastercard’s press release announcing the Crypto Partner Program emphasises this point, stressing that ‘the next phase of on-chain payments will be built through collaboration’.
Ripple’s share buyback program values company at $50 billion USD
Ripple has become a name entrenched in the crypto ecosystem, responsible for the XRP Ledger and associated digital assets like XRP and RLUSD. The company, founded in 2012, has expanded its operations over the past few years, adopting a broader industry-focused approach and launching several new blockchain products. This has included the purchase of trading platforms like Hidden Road, alongside the acquisition of the treasury management firm GTreasury.
Despite Ripple’s flagship digital asset, XRP, struggling to attract value over the last 12 months (down nearly 40% at the time of writing), the company itself is reportedly on the upward trend.
The announcement of Ripple’s $750 million USD ($1.05 billion AUD) share buyback program reportedly values the fintech at $50 billion USD ($70 billion AUD), representing 25% growth since its November 2025 $500 million USD funding round.
The process will involve Ripple repurchasing shares from eligible employees and early investors through a tender offer expected to run until April 2026.
The increase in the company’s valuation suggests Ripple’s acquisition-driven expansion strategy may be gaining traction, despite muted price performance across the digital asset sector. That said, news of Ripple’s private-market interest did little to push the price of XRP upward, with the cryptocurrency trading flat over the past seven days at the time of writing.
Ben Knight
