Crypto at has attracted $3 million in seed funding from investors including Protocol Labs. The startup aims to put satellites capable of transmitting secure computing data to Earth.
This is not the first time the cryptocurrency industry has tried to use outer space for security. Bitcoin development company Blockstream has launched several of its own satellites to bring maximum decentralization to the underlying blockchain.
Hardening cryptography with cryptocurrencies at
Many cryptographic processes are difficult to perform. For example, very large numbers are used throughout cryptography, but getting computers to generate random numbers is difficult. This makes key generation laborious and has security holes. If the hardware responsible for generating random numbers is compromised, your security may also be compromised.
From verifiable delay functions to ZK-SNARKs, there are many examples of systems that can be improved if trusted sources exist. Crypto at believes its “oracle of the sky” will be a trusted source of truth.
According to a recent press release, the company just raised $3 million to continue developing its satellites, the first of which will launch in May 2022. Crypto1 completed its journey from Earth with the help of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Cryptoat was founded by Yan Michalevsky of Anjuna Enterprise Security and Yonatan Winetraub of SpaceIL. The pair published a paper in 2017 on the possibility of sensitive cryptographic manipulation of satellite launches, and have since developed the idea.
Commenting on Crypto at the task, Yan Michalevsky said:
“Crypto at provides unprecedented assurance of integrity, confidentiality and authenticity for the most sensitive cryptocurrency operations by leveraging an environment that provides the ultimate physical security: space.”
Crypto at is already working with one of its backers, Protocol Labs, to develop space-hosted verifiable delay functions. Meanwhile, the EVM-compatible Velas blockchain collaboration focuses on creating random beacons. The pair aimed to create a tamper-proof random number generator that could be referenced by many applications.
The race in the cryptocurrency space continues
Cryptocurrency industry veterans may remember another company looking to maximize security in space. Long-running blockchain development company Blockstream has previously put several satellites into orbit.
Beginning in August 2017, Blockstream satellites are designed to provide free access to the Bitcoin network no matter where in the world potential users are. Like Crypto at, Blockstream determined that taking satellites out of orbit is currently not feasible. Therefore, the effort is not only to strengthen Bitcoin’s accessibility, but also to resist state-level censorship.
Blockstream co-founder Adam Back, speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Amsterdam in 2022, added the benefits of privacy:
“You can receive data anonymously because it’s broadcast and basically nobody can tell you’re receiving it. So, it’s good for privacy.”
Blockstream has launched three more satellites since 2017 before announcing new and improved Blockstream satellites in 2020. The improved version introduces additional coverage and the ability to sync full Bitcoin nodes without an internet connection.
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