Crypto Founder Takes Seat On SpaceX Journey To Mars

Wang Chun has a specific worry about Mars. Not whether humans can survive the journey, but whether anyone will bother to try. The founder of crypto mining pool F2Pool put his money behind that worry this week by purchasing a seat on SpaceX’s first crewed mission to the red planet.

A Man On A Mission To Keep Mars Alive

SpaceX announced the two-year mission on Thursday. It will fly past the Moon, continue to Mars, and return to Earth. Wang also secured a seat on a separate weeklong lunar flight set to launch before the interplanetary mission.

“I have no confidence that Mars will still happen within our lifetime,” Wang wrote on X. “And I think I should do something about that.”

His argument is straightforward. Governments, he believes, will eventually return humans to the Moon because competition between the US and China makes it almost inevitable.

Mars is a different story. Without private money keeping it on the table, he fears the goal could slip out of reach entirely.

“I hope that by purchasing a flyby mission to Mars, SpaceX will have another reason not to forget about Mars,” Wang said.

From Bitcoin Mining Pools To Outer Space

Wang is not new to funding space travel. Last April, he bankrolled and commanded Fram2, a SpaceX mission that orbited over Earth’s poles.

The crew of four conducted experiments during the flight, including taking an X-ray in space and growing mushrooms. The Mars mission would take that ambition considerably further.

He founded F2Pool in 2013, one of the first Bitcoin mining pools to emerge from China. According to mempool.space data, it currently holds an 11.85% share of the global mining market, making it the third largest pool in operation.

SpaceX’s broader vision for Mars goes well beyond a single flyby. Reports indicate the company aims to eventually build a self-sustaining city on the planet, a goal it estimates will require more than 1 million people and millions of tons of cargo. Cargo flights for research and exploratory purposes are not expected before 2028.

Wang says the mission carries a message beyond the technical. “I hope this mission can show the public that Mars is not just a point of light in a telescope,” he said. “It is a real place, and humans can fly there and come back alive and come back healthy.”

The Chinese-born citizen of Malta joins a growing group of tech entrepreneurs who have moved from funding space ventures to riding on them, including Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Jared Isaacman.

Featured image from SpaceX, chart from TradingView