Canadian Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, who was identified as the likeliest Satoshi Nakamoto candidate in a recent HBO documentary, recently weighed in on the feasibility of Bitcoin space mining, arguing that critics of such a futurist idea are wrong.
According to Todd, there are some misconceptions about such an idea, with some people arguing that it would be impossible due to the inability to keep things cool in space and very high latency.
However, Todd argues that these critics have read too much over-simplified “pop science” without doing the physics themselves.
The 39-year-old cryptographer argues that “nothing” fundamentally stops space Bitcoin mining from being possible.
Todd argues that most people believe that space is hot because space is empty. “Here on Earth, you can easily get rid of large amounts of waste heat by transferring it to the atmosphere. But in space, the only way to expel waste heat with a closed system is to expel it via thermal radiation,” he explains.
He believes that space mining would be possible with the help of solar-powered miners. Solar panels would be capable of absorbing and radiating heat. Their angle to the sun could be adjusted in order to avoid overheating. When it comes to heat spreading, Todd argues that there are existing cooling components that can handle devices producing more than 1,000 watts of heat.
Lower latency is also not a deal breaker for Bitcoin space mining. According to Todd, this would only make the process less efficient.
For now, Bitcoin space mining seems to be a very far-fetched idea. However, the sixth flight test of Starship ignited some discussions about its feasibility, and Todd believes that it is possible.
