Bitcoin in space is good for users’ privacy, says Adam Back
Adam Back, the co-founder of Blockstream, took time out from the main stage of Bitcoin Amsterdam, a three-day Bitcoin conference in the Netherlands, to speak with Cointelegraph.
At a park table among tulips and bicycles, the man behind Proof-of-Work algorithm Cointelegraph challenged him to a game of Jenga and made a case for sending Bitcoin into space. One of the few people quoted in the Bitcoin Whitepaper, (BTC) Back also discussed his childhood and his first interactions with computers. The video will soon be published on Cointelegraph’s Youtube channel.
But why do we need the Bitcoin blockchain – a decentralized peer-to-peer network already secured by nodes on Earth – in space? Do Aliens Need Bitcoin Like Humans Do? Back casually joked with Cointelegraph:
“Well, I mean, there are a few reasons [to having Bitcoin in space]. One because it’s cool and you can.”
However, it also offers advantages such as privacy: “You can receive the data anonymously because it is broadcast, and basically no one can tell that you are receiving it. So it’s good for privacy, Back continued, moments before winning the Jenga game.
Furthermore, having Bitcoin in space is also “good for companies because they really need to make sure they are on the right blockchain. If there is a local network problem or if a router gets hacked, then the satellite Bitcoin connection ensures that companies can continue to trade and use the Bitcoin blockchain without hindrance.
Indeed, the news is flooded with governments and groups intent on preventing access to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency-related activities; so having a connection to a satellite Bitcoin protocol is invaluable and enables greater censorship resistance.
For the Global South, the argument for connecting and downloading the backlog of Bitcoin data to synchronize a node is the price. While in the developed world, the cost of downloading and syncing Bitcoin core can be negligible:
“For emerging markets, the cost of an Internet connection fast enough to keep up with Bitcoin is actually expensive compared to wages.”
Back explained that you can sync a node at no cost in developing countries using Blockstream satellites. While the process is undoubtedly slower – taking a week or two to update – it means that the barrier to entry for participating in the Bitcoin protocol is getting lower and lower.
Related: Adam Back refuses to have a beer with Satoshi Nakamoto
Finally, Back is still very bullish on Bitcoin. In a tweet on Monday morning, the mathematician shared that Bitcoin will “conservativelyDo a 10x in the next five years. That means the Bitcoin price will reach over $200,000 before 2027.
