About 1.4 billion adults worldwide were unbanked in 2021, and 3 billion people are without Internet access. This dual exclusion – being unbanked and unconnected – has stalled financial inclusion. In this void, space-based finance emerges as a new frontier: what if satellites in low Earth orbit could deliver banking services to the underbanked? Projects like Spacecoin are exploring exactly that. 1.4 billion Spacecoin seeks to extend financial access from orbit by merging decentralized banking networks with cryptocurrency in space. In effect, it’s a vision of space-based finance beyond the surface of the Earth. For the Spacecoin team, “space-based finance” is more than a buzzword – it’s their actual mission. In Spacecoin’s materials, they promise to “completely decentralize the Internet” via a blockchain-powered satellite mesh, effectively building the rails of a space-based financial network. The Unbanked and the Unconnected Large parts of the world are both offline and excluded from traditional banking. Spacecoin says “2.9 billion people are unconnected” to the Internet, often in remote rural areas. These overlap with populations where World Bank data reports 1.4 billion adults without bank accounts. Without Internet access, mobile money or crypto wallets can’t reach those users; without financial services, even digital payment tools go unused. Innovators are racing to solve this with technology. Projects like Sui Labs are working on “internet-less” crypto transfers over radio and mesh networks, reaching people even when the Internet is down. SpaceChain — a blockchain-in-space startup — is “democratizing access to space” with fintech infrastructure. They’ve launched blockchain nodes on satellites and developed Tethys, “a handheld satellite mobile device” that enables crypto transactions via satellite anywhere. Even Blockstream’s Satellite network is beaming the Bitcoin blockchain from orbit as a global backup. All these examples show how cryptocurrency in space can carry data and money to remote corners of the globe, banking the unbanked. Spacecoin’s Vision: Satellites, Blockchain, and Credit Spacecoin as a company was once a fintech firm and expanded into satellites afterwards. Co-founder Tae Oh recounts that the business operation first managed a crypto-powered lending business in Nigeria. But it encountered a basic issue: "While we were on our mission to bank the unbanked, we realized that many of the unbanked were also unconnected… You are not going to be helped by a fintech solution or crypto solution if you're not connected to the Internet," Oh explained in an interview with Moneycontrol. This realization triggered a course correction: instead of establishing ground branches, Spacecoin began launching tiny LEO satellites as a means of reaching people who are offline. Essentially, Spacecoin is a blockchain-powered Internet provider. An intended mesh network of tiny satellites will cover targeted areas with 5G coverage, eliminating single points of failure. The network and its users will be governed by smart contracts on the blockchain and fees paid in cryptocurrency. Spacecoin goes out of its way to say its design "eliminates financial and country boundaries, even in areas without robust banking infrastructure", so individuals with only crypto wallets can purchase connectivity. The network is intended for light data usage — messaging, low-grade browsing, and micropayments — so expenses can be kept extremely low (in the range of $2/month). In emphasizing low-bandwidth use cases, Spacecoin can support numerous end-users cheaply. As goes on to say, "by targeting lower-bandwidth use cases, we can make the network support more concurrent connections". Spacecoin also earns on-chain credit. According to the Creditcoin blockchain, the system provides individuals with the power to establish their own credit history by simply paying for their satellite subscriptions. According to Spacecoin's tutorial, people who are "unbanked "can establish their on-chain credit profiles by simply using and paying for Spacecoin's internet, and accessing loans and services they otherwise cannot access. Spacecoin's roadmap bears this out. The initiative put its first satellite, CTC-0, into orbit in late 2024 as a SpaceX rideshare mission and conducted pilot tests with collaborators in Africa and South Asia. 2025 has multiple satellite launches on tap, with live service by the end of 2025. 2026 targets broadening coverage and even permitting end-users to launch their own satellites into the constellation. That's a pretty ambitious schedule. Emerging Space-Based Finance Spacecoin is not the only player exploring the frontier of satellite banking. Even established companies are testing orbital finance. For example, in 2021, JPMorgan and GomSpace did the world’s first bank-led, tokenized value transfer in space, effectively sending cryptocurrency from one LEO satellite to another via blockchain. This proof-of-concept shows how space-based finance could one day enable 24/7 global payments independent of ground infrastructure. Other crypto innovators are active too. Companies like SpaceChain are deploying blockchain payloads in orbit, while Blockstream and others are using satellites to broadcast blockchain ledgers worldwide. Ground-based DePIN networks (and planned hybrid models) are being designed with satellite integration in mind. In all of these ventures, the end goal is the same: to bank the unbanked in places the traditional financial system has never reached. In short, space agencies, banks, and Web3 startups all see potential in combining decentralization with space technology to extend financial inclusion beyond Earth’s surface. Conclusion Spacecoin and its peers are living the dream: using rockets and blockchain to deliver financial services to those who have never had them. For many, these projects are effectively piloting space-based finance in real time. This is combining the ethos of decentralized banking with space technology. If it works, it will finally bring modern financial tools to billions by literally beaming them from the sky. The goal is not just to bank the unbanked, but to bank the unbanked and the offline as well. The road ahead is tough, from hardware costs to regulation to crypto volatility, but the promise is clear. Space-based finance may sound like science fiction, but for underserved communities, it could become a reality. One day, a family beyond the horizon will connect to the global economy through a satellite-enabled wallet, and the stars themselves will become gateways for financial inclusion.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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Spacecoin and The Promise of Banking The Unbanked From Orbit

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