Bitcoin will soon be able to be transferred from Earth to Mars in just 3 minutes.

A research group led by technology entrepreneur Jose E. Puente has just announced the Proof-of-Transit Timestamping (PoTT) solution, opening up the possibility of transferring Bitcoin from Earth to Mars in just about 3 minutes using existing technology.

According to Puente, PoTT operates as an additional “receipt layer” for Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. When a transaction is sent, it will “jump” through intermediary stations like ground antennas, satellites, or relay stations around the Moon. At each stop, the transaction is “timestamped” before continuing its journey to Mars.

He stated that this technology could leverage NASA's infrastructure, Elon Musk's Starlink, or other satellite providers, and could completely run tests today by simulating the delay at the Mars level.

• Lightning transactions can take from 3 minutes to a maximum of 22 minutes to reach Mars.
• The biggest challenge is the two-week communication blackout every 26 months, which can be resolved by a satellite routing system that circles around the Sun.
• For a trade to actually take place, there needs to be a human or AI present on Mars to receive Bitcoin.

Puente emphasizes that Bitcoin is the most suitable choice to become an interplanetary currency due to its neutrality, being independent of any government or company.

This idea follows previous milestones such as Blockstream (2018) transmitting Bitcoin via 5 satellites or SpaceChain (2020) facilitating Bitcoin transactions from the International Space Station.

Elon Musk also agrees that a standard currency system is needed for interplanetary transactions. He has expressed concerns about Bitcoin's 10-minute block time, but with Lightning + PoTT, Puente believes this will be the solution for local speed and global interplanetary payment capabilities.