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Spacecoin and the DePIN Race to Space: How Blockchain Is Powering a $2-Per-Month Satellite Internet Revolution

· 8 min read
Dora Noda
Dora Noda
Software Engineer

What if the next billion internet users came online not through fiber optics or cell towers, but through blockchain-powered satellites beaming connectivity from 400 kilometers above Earth? That's exactly what Spacecoin is betting on—and with a $2-per-month price tag and partnerships with Trump-linked DeFi protocols, this space-based DePIN project just became impossible to ignore.

On January 24, 2026, Spacecoin launched its SPACE token across Binance, Kraken, and Uniswap, marking the culmination of a remarkable journey from a single test satellite to a fully operational decentralized satellite network. But this isn't just another token launch—it's the beginning of a new chapter in how we think about internet infrastructure, financial inclusion, and the convergence of crypto and space technology.

From Chile to Portugal: The First Blockchain Transaction Through Space​

The story of Spacecoin's technical breakthrough reads like science fiction made real. In October 2025, during a keynote at TOKEN2049 Singapore, the team demonstrated something unprecedented: a blockchain transaction transmitted entirely through space.

The proof-of-concept worked like this: Messages were uplinked to Spacecoin's CTC-0 satellite from Punta Arenas, Chile via S-band radio waves. The satellite, built by Endurosat and launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare in December 2024, then relayed that data across 7,000 kilometers to a ground station in the Azores, Portugal using store-and-forward technology. The transaction was validated on the Creditcoin blockchain, confirming both the satellite's relay capability and the integrity of the protocol.

"Unlike terrestrial networks, which remain vulnerable to outages, censorship, and cost barriers, a decentralized satellite-based system can deliver internet access that is global, censorship-resistant, and independent of monopolies," the company stated.

This wasn't just a tech demo—it was a declaration of independence from the infrastructure that currently controls global connectivity.

The CTC Constellation: Building Internet Infrastructure in Orbit​

Spacecoin's satellite constellation is still in its early stages, but the roadmap is ambitious. After CTC-0 proved the concept worked, the company launched three additional satellites—the CTC-1 cluster—in November 2025. These enable inter-satellite handoffs and broader demonstrations across continents.

The technical progression tells a story of rapid scaling:

  • CTC-0: Single demonstration nanosatellite (6U form factor)
  • CTC-1: Three-satellite cluster enabling handoffs (16U satellites)
  • CTC-2 and beyond: Transition to microsatellites for significantly improved performance

Founded in 2022 as a spinoff from Gluwa, a financial services company focused on emerging markets, Spacecoin represents founder Tae Oh's vision of leveraging space infrastructure to solve the digital divide. The company has positioned itself as the first DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) powered by blockchain-enabled LEO nanosatellite constellations.

Here's where things get interesting for the other 3 billion people on Earth who remain offline.

Spacecoin is targeting a price point of just $1-2 per month per user in emerging markets—compared to Starlink's approximately $46 monthly residential rate. This isn't just incremental disruption; it's a fundamentally different approach to the economics of satellite internet.

How can they offer such dramatically lower prices? The answer lies in the DePIN model itself. By sharing infrastructure costs through blockchain protocols and incentivizing community participation through token economics, Spacecoin aims to distribute both the costs and benefits of building a satellite network.

The company has already moved from theory to practice, signing agreements for pilot programs in four countries:

  • Kenya: Licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya for satellite IoT monitoring and rural connectivity. Currently, Starlink controls over 98% of Kenya's satellite internet market with 19,470 of the country's 19,762 satellite subscribers.

  • Nigeria: Building on an existing license from the Nigerian Communications Commission, targeting rural communities. Nigeria has more than 100 million unconnected people.

  • Indonesia: Working with local partners to extend coverage across the archipelago, where geography makes terrestrial buildouts prohibitively complex. Around 93 million Indonesians remain offline.

  • Cambodia: Strategic partnership with MekongNet to provide satellite internet to rural and underserved populations.

In each market, Spacecoin provides the core satellite infrastructure while local partners handle ground operations and user support—a model designed for scale.

The Trump Connection: World Liberty Finance Partnership​

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising development came just two days before the SPACE token launch. On January 22, 2026, Spacecoin announced a strategic partnership and token swap with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi platform backed by the Trump family.

The partnership isn't merely symbolic. WLFI's USD1 stablecoin has grown to approximately $3.27 billion in market capitalization, making it one of the larger stablecoins in circulation. The SPACE token launched paired with USD1, reinforcing the connection between the two projects.

What does this mean practically? The initiative aims to enable financial settlements through satellite networks, allowing cryptocurrency payments and stablecoin transfers even in regions without reliable terrestrial internet access. Blockchain.com also announced a strategic partnership to support the SPACE token launch.

This convergence of satellite infrastructure and DeFi rails could create something genuinely new: a parallel financial system that doesn't depend on traditional telecommunications or banking infrastructure.

DePIN's Defining Moment: A $19 Billion Sector Finds Its Use Case​

Spacecoin's launch comes at a pivotal moment for the broader DePIN sector. As of September 2025, CoinGecko tracks nearly 250 DePIN projects with a combined market cap above $19 billion—up from just $5.2 billion a year ago.

During 2025 alone, venture capital funds invested more than $740 million in DePIN projects. Some estimates suggest the sector could reach a potential valuation of $3.5 trillion by 2028, driven by demand for physical infrastructure to support artificial intelligence and robotics.

The thesis is compelling: across large parts of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, basic infrastructure remains insufficient. Connectivity is limited, energy supply is unstable, and the generation of reliable data depends on centralized systems that fail to meet demand. DePIN fits precisely into that gap.

Spacecoin represents the satellite connectivity vertical within this broader trend. Other notable DePIN projects are tackling different infrastructure challenges:

  • GEODNET: Uses rooftop satellite miners to enhance GPS accuracy to centimeter-level precision, with partnerships including the U.S. Department of Agriculture for precision agriculture
  • Helium: Continues to expand its decentralized wireless network
  • Decen Space: Building a decentralized network of satellite ground stations on Solana

Risks and Realities: What Could Go Wrong​

No honest analysis of Spacecoin would be complete without acknowledging the substantial risks.

Technical execution: Building a satellite constellation is hard. SpaceX has spent over $10 billion and launched thousands of satellites to build Starlink. Spacecoin has four satellites and ambitious plans—the gap between vision and execution remains enormous.

Regulatory hurdles: Satellite spectrum is one of the most regulated resources on Earth. While Spacecoin has secured licenses in Kenya and Nigeria, global deployment requires navigating hundreds of regulatory jurisdictions.

Competition: Starlink, Amazon's Project Kuiper, and OneWeb are spending billions to dominate the satellite internet market. Spacecoin's DePIN model may offer cost advantages, but incumbents have massive head starts.

Token economics: The SPACE token's value proposition depends on network effects that don't yet exist at scale. Token launches often front-run actual utility.

Political entanglements: The WLFI partnership brings visibility but also controversy. Association with politically divisive figures could complicate international expansion.

The Bigger Picture: Infrastructure for the Post-Terrestrial Internet​

Despite these risks, Spacecoin represents something significant: the first serious attempt to apply DePIN principles to space-based infrastructure.

The company's goal—providing reliable connectivity for the 2.6 billion people who have never connected to the Internet and the additional 3.5 billion who live with restricted access—addresses a genuine market failure. Traditional satellite providers have struggled to serve these markets profitably. If blockchain-enabled cost sharing can change that math, the implications extend far beyond crypto.

The CTC-0 satellite successfully transmitting a blockchain transaction through space proved the technology works. The pilot programs in Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, and Cambodia will test whether the business model works. And the SPACE token launch provides the capital and community to scale—if execution follows.

For Web3, Spacecoin represents the kind of real-world utility that the industry has long promised but rarely delivered. This isn't yield farming or NFT speculation—it's physical infrastructure connecting the unconnected.

The next chapter will be written 400 kilometers above Earth. Whether Spacecoin can actually deliver internet for $2 per month remains to be seen, but the attempt itself marks a new frontier for decentralized infrastructure.

For developers building applications that need reliable blockchain infrastructure regardless of geographic constraints, BlockEden.xyz provides enterprise-grade API services across multiple chains including Ethereum, Solana, and Sui—the same foundational layers that projects like Spacecoin are building upon.

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