tl;dr
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, now accepts cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for spaceflight purchases through a partnership with payments company Shift4. Shift4 supports various crypto transactions, including stablecoins USDT and USDC, and processes over $260 billion glo...
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space exploration company, Blue Origin, has started accepting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for purchasing flights to space. This new payment option is facilitated through Blue Origin’s partnership with payments company Shift4, which supports crypto transactions including popular stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
Shift4’s Head of Crypto, Alex Wilson, highlighted the growing significance of crypto as a $4 trillion asset class and emphasized the potential for digital currencies to become a favored payment method, especially for high-value purchases. The benefit extends to both consumers and merchants through financial efficiencies in such transactions.
Reserving a flight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft requires a minimum deposit of $150,000, although the full cost details remain undisclosed. Notably, the company auctioned the first seat on New Shepard in 2021, which was won by crypto billionaire and Tron founder Justin Sun for $28 million. Sun successfully completed his spaceflight last week.
Shift4 manages a payment infrastructure that processes over $260 billion globally and recently expanded its capabilities to support global crypto payments, enabling merchants to accept cryptocurrencies seamlessly. The company’s co-founder, billionaire Jared Isaacman, has personal ties to space travel, having journeyed with SpaceX and once receiving a nomination to head NASA, which was later withdrawn.
On the stock market, Shift4 (ticker: FOUR) experienced a 1.68% gain closing at $82.98, despite the stock remaining down by more than 20% for the year to date, reflecting a turbulent but opportunistic landscape amid evolving crypto and space commerce integration.