One giant leap for Bitcoin: Treasure chest of 62 BTC to be deposited on the moon

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(Kitco News) – LunarCrush, a social intelligence company serving the crypto ecosystem, is preparing to send Bitcoin (BTC) on a lunar mission – literally – with the launch of Nakamoto_1, a 62 BTC treasure chest worth approximately $1.5 million that will be deposited on the moon in 2023.

According to the LunarCrush announcement, the Bitcoin prize “will be unlocked by the first space traveler to reach the moon and obtain the wallet’s private key, which will be etched on 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 a NFT collection which they plan to sell to finance the project.

The ultimate goal of the Web3-powered space race is to “inspire the next generation of interplanetary exploration.”

“When you set a seemingly unattainable 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 share the treasure chest’s rewards. It is like Willy Wonka’s ‘golden ticket’ to the Web3 era, and we couldn’t be more excited to see how it all plays out.”

The project plans to fully document the process of engraving the private key attached to the rover as a way to ensure complete transparency and show that no one has access to the private keys.

When the 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 the fourth quarter of this year, but the exact date has not yet been announced for security reasons.

“What may sound strange to some will open new frontiers that have not been explored outside of the mind for a long time,” said Dr. Forrest Meyen, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Lunar Outpost. “Future generations will look to us as pioneers in interplanetary exploration and adventure. LunarCrush uses 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 premium will be funded by a special collection of Bitcoin-backed NFTs that will go on sale starting March 28. 25% of the proceeds will go towards funding the treasury and 25% will go into a “Community Marketing Wallet”, which will go towards 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. “Additionally, teams will enter some of the NFT concept art as Ordinals and 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 modern 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 touch of vintage sci-fi art.”

The team chose Bitcoin as the reward for the bounty “because it is 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 treasury.

“We are excited to inspire a new generation of astronauts as they take the next small step for the world,” said Alex Miller, CEO of Hiro.