Elon Musk Considers Bitcoin as a Payment Method on Mars

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk may be getting open to the idea of using Bitcoin on Mars. Initially, he turned down the idea citing that bitcoin transaction settlement time takes too long, he later considered it while verbally brainstorming, that bitcoin transactions on Mars could be feasible given the proximity of Mars to Earth in terms of light minutes. However, there could still be some challenges, and he suggested a need for a localized network on Mars.

Musk acknowledged Bitcoin's slow transaction speed but proposed a solution using a localized Lightning Network. Currently, Bitcoin transactions take up to an hour to confirm due to 10-minute block assembly and the need for six confirmations. Blockstream CEO Adam Back fully supported the idea of using Bitcoin as a payment method on Mars, even without a Lightning Network, claiming it's manageable with 10-minute blocks.

In April 2023, Glassnode data highlighted the cost-efficiency of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, with transaction costs at 0.0029%, this makes the Bitcoin Lightning network around 1,000 times cheaper than Mastercard or Visa processors.

People are speculating about Musk integrating cryptocurrencies into his platform, X. Reports in January 2023 suggested that X's payments feature could support cryptocurrencies if the opportunity arises.

However, Musk responded in August 2023 that he would not launch a crypto token on the X platform, indicating a shift in his stance.