A groundbreaking new study has revealed that Bitcoin’s Lightning Network could enable near-instant payments between Earth and Mars. By leveraging advanced optical communication links from NASA or Starlink, combined with a novel interplanetary timestamping system, researchers suggest transactions could be confirmed in as little as three minutes.
This breakthrough highlights the potential of Bitcoin not only as global money, but as interplanetary money. Unlike traditional financial systems, Lightning’s decentralized and low-latency structure makes it adaptable for extreme distances, even across space.
As humanity looks toward colonizing Mars, the ability to send and receive value securely and quickly across planets could redefine the future of economics. The study underscores Bitcoin’s role as the foundation of a truly universal financial system.