 | Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! |
(Kitco News) - LunarCrush, a social intelligence company serving the crypto ecosystem, is preparing to send Bitcoin (BTC) on a moon mission – literally – with the launch of Nakamoto_1, a treasure chest of 62 BTC worth approximately $1.5 million that will be deposited on the moon in 2023.
According to the announcement from LunarCrush, the Bitcoin bounty “will be unlocked by the first space traveler to reach the moon and obtain the wallet's private key, which will be etched onto a Lunar Outpost MAPP Rover launching into space later this year.”
LunarCrush partnered with Lunar Outpost, a leader in commercial planetary mobility, animation studio Golden Wolf, and Bitcoin developer tools company Hiro to make Nakamoto_1 a reality. Together they have created an NFT collection that they plan to sell in order to fund the project.
The ultimate goal of the Web3-powered space race is to “inspire the next generation of interplanetary exploration.”
"When you put out a seemingly unachievable goal, the innovation that happens can be incredible,” said Joe Vezzani, CEO of LunarCrush. “Our goal is to inspire people to build communities that will unlock a new era of exploration. We envision classrooms, groups, companies, and even DAOs coming together to reach the Moon and split the treasure chest's rewards. It's like Willy Wonka's 'golden ticket' for the Web3 era, and we couldn't be more excited to see how it all unfolds.”
The project plans to fully document the process of engraving the private key affixed to the rover as a way to ensure complete transparency and show that no one has access to the private keys.
Once Lunar Outpost's MAPP Rover lands on the moon, the bounty is available to anyone on Earth who can devise and execute a plan to reach it. A SpaceX rocket will deliver the rover to the moon in Q4 of this year, but the exact date has not yet been released for security reasons.
"What may sound outlandish to some will open new frontiers that haven't been explored outside the mind in a long time,” said Dr. Forrest Meyen, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Lunar Outpost. “Future generations will look to us as pioneers of interplanetary exploration and adventure. LunarCrush is using modern blockchain technology to deliver a treasure instead of organizing a prize committee. This structure incentivizes exploration while unlocking the best of human ingenuity.”
The Bitcoin bounty will be funded by a special collection of Bitcoin-secured NFTs that will go on sale beginning March 28. 25% of the proceeds will go towards funding the treasure chest and 25% will go into a “Community Marketing Wallet,” which will go toward funding Bitcoin core development and STEM education-related causes.
Each NFT will be priced at $250, and all secondary sales, along with any contributions to the public wallet, will be used to further increase the value of the treasure chest. “In addition, the teams will inscribe some of the NFT concept art as Ordinals and will include them in the treasure chest,” the press release said.
The NFTs were designed by Golden Wolf, an award-winning creative studio known for design and animation. “We loved the idea that the art could inspire a new generation of young people to look to the stars, like a contemporary version of an Apollo 11 poster on a bedroom wall,” said Ingi Erlingsson, Founder and CEO of Golden Wolf. “We wanted the aesthetic to feel modern and unique, with a hint of vintage sci-fi art.”
The team selected Bitcoin as the reward for the bounty “because it's the most long-lasting, secure, and future-proof form of money.” Hiro provided technical support for the creation of the Bitcoin-backed NFTs that will fund the treasure chest.
"We're excited to inspire a new generation of space explorers as they make that next small step for the world," said Alex Miller, CEO of Hiro.
