Cryptosat to launch a crypto satellite into space

Cryptosat's private round attracted investments from Protocol Labs, a company known for developing IPFS and the Filecoin DeFi platform, as well as Phala Network, Inflection, GoAhead Ventures and DoraHacks.

Cryptosat is a startup that builds and launches satellites that power blockchain and cryptographic protocols. The company is confident that due to the complete isolation of channels, they will be able to guarantee the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive computations and data. According to the developers, crypto satellites eliminate the possibility of physical hack or interference by government agencies. 

Cryptosat was founded by Stanford University graduates Jan Michalewski and Jonathan Weintraub. For both, the startup was the second project in which they were developers. Michalewski, who specializes in cryptocurrencies and security, had previously founded Anjuna. It is a pioneer in the field of confidential computing. Aerospace industry expert Weintraub organized the first private lunar program SpaceIL in 2019.

Cryptosat Co-founder, Jan Michalewski said: “Cryptosat provides unprecedented integrity, confidentiality and authenticity guarantees for the most sensitive cryptographic operations by leveraging an environment that provides ultimate physical security: space.”

The startup plans to use cube satellites that are compact and affordable. It is expected that as technology spreads, the costs of developing and launching them will decrease. The main features of such crypto satellites are:

   •  Absolute protection against unauthorized access. Once in orbit, such satellites cannot be hacked due to the lack of physical contact with them;

   •  Tracking. Each crypto satellite is under the control of space agencies, among which is The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a bi-national United Statesand Canadian organization;

   •  Transparency. Crypto satellites are not able to hide or distort data. Communication with them is carried out in open space and, if necessary, users can connect to them to evaluate data transfer.

Presenting the project, Michalewski stated: “One way to think about what we are trying to do is to think of a vault. If you have valuable items that you want to protect from a thief, you can put a vault in your home. If you can send that vault into space, you can be even more certain that no thieves will be able to steal your valuables, giving you out-of-this-world security.”

Cryptosat plans not only to launch a crypto satellite into low Earth orbit, but also to create a lot of ground infrastructure compatible with the different blockchain protocols.