Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly now accepting the cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment and plans to launch a satellite to the moon named DOGE-1 paid for entirely with the cryptocurrency.
The Verge reports Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is now accepting the cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin to fund a new satellite called DOGE-1 that it plans to send to the moon.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started as a meme, has become mildly valuable in recent months due to a spike in the currency’s value following Elon Musk’s tweeted support of the coin.
The DOGE-1 is a CubeSat meant to acquire “lunar-spatial intelligence” using onboard cameras and sensors. The satellite is reportedly being sent and paid for by a company named Geometric Energy Corporation and will be flown on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.
Elon Musk has been a vocal supporter of the dogecoin cryptocurrency, referring to himself as “The Dogefather” on Twitter and discussing the coin while hosting Saturday Night Live. Investors in the coin regularly joke about sending the value of Dogecoin “to the Moon,” which appears to be the main motivation behind sending a satellite named DOGE-1 to the Moon.
SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2021
SpaceX vice president of commercial sales Tom Ochinero commented: “We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!” Ochinero says that the partnership sets “the foundation for interplanetary commerce.”
Geometric Energy Corporation’s CEO says that the transaction “solidified DOGE as a unit of account for lunar business in the space sector.”
Dogecoin has had a tough run of luck this week after spiking in price, falling harshly during a Robinhood crash, and spiking again in anticipation of Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live.
During a segment on the show in which Musk joked about Dogecoin being a “hustle,” the price of Dogecoin plummeted. There was a slight increase in the coin’s value during SNL’s “Weekend Update” parody news section in which Musk explained to a confused Michael Che and Colin Jost what Dogecoin was.
Twitter users were quick to create memes about the situation:
Me watching SNL crack cringe jokes while my portfolio plummets #DogeSNL pic.twitter.com/OBiA1d3Pe1
— (@N3KO1030) May 9, 2021
Read more at The Verge here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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