Following in the footsteps of notable names like Lance Bass, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are pursuing a trip into space–and they are paying their way with bitcoin.
“Cameron and I have decided to use our bitcoin to take the plunge, or rather propulsion, into space. Why? Because Bitcoin and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are two technologies that meaningfully represent our focus at Winklevoss Capital – the reduction of pain-points and friction in an effort to build a better world,” says Tyler Winklevoss in a post on their Winklevoss Capital blog.
“It is in this vein that Cameron and I contemplate our tickets into space – as seed capital supporting a new technology that may forever change the way we travel, purchased with a new technology that may forever change the way we transact.”
If you’re looking for the whole “vein,” Tyler Winklevoss spent the previous paragraphs giving us an accurate, if incomplete account of human exploration from Marco Polo to Elon Musk. And Richard Branson, of course.
How will going to #space affect identical twins? We’ll soon find out! Welcome aboard the Winklevoss twins http://t.co/7PqgrSX8iS
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) March 5, 2014
Happy to announce that @winklevoss and I have used #bitcoin to become @virgingalactic astronauts number 700 and 701 http://t.co/JSruUeb0Kh
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tylerwinklevoss) March 5, 2014
The recently-crowned Bitcoin moguls haven’t set a date for their physical and metaphorical exploration of a new frontier, they say that this is only the beginning.
According to Branson, the Winklevii are passengers 700 and 701 on Virgin Galactic, but the very first identical twins.
“Learning more about space, and providing better access to space has potentially countless benefits for humanity, as Tyler and Cameron so eloquently explained in their blog. We already enjoy satellite television, GPS and even memory foam mattresses because of the space industry. Once we have regular and reliable access to space imagine the possibilities,” says Branson.
“They are also among a growing number of future astronauts to purchase their flights with bitcoin. It’s well worth reading their thoughts on combining the two innovative technologies, as well as highlighting the history and future of adventure and space travel.”
Virgin Galactic first began to accept bitcoin for tickets to space back in November.
Image via Winklevoss Capital Blog
