Beaming Bitcoins from space with Blockstream

The Blockstream Satellite API now gives anyone the chance to broadcast data via their satellite network.

The API was previously hosted on the Lightning testnet, but it will now switch to the mainnet “to become one of the world’s first Bitcoin-powered satellite services,” said Blocksteam in their blog post.

How will it work?

The Blockstream Satellite API provides developers with an easy-to-use API to submit messages for broadcast by the satellite network. The API is also totally “data agnostic.”

Thanks to the recent global expansion in satellite coverage, messages can be received by the vast majority of the world’s population. All that is needed to receive a broadcast is a satellite dish (a TV satellite dish will suffice), a few low-cost components, and a computer. Broadcasts can be received completely free of charge.

The team stated: “Presently, Blockstream Satellite is broadcast-only. The fee to send data is variable and broadcasts are prioritised by the amount paid per byte sent.” So, in times of heavy traffic, a fee market is created for broadcasts (similar to how transactions compete for inclusion in Bitcoin blocks).

Blockstream CEO Adam Back took to Reddit to say: “In terms of payment, we expect to use incremental per transaction or message fees to sustain and grow these kind of use cases.”

Still a focus on privacy

You can trace the origins of Blockstream’s founders back to the original cypherpunk movement. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the  Satellite API has a number of features that support varying levels of privacy for broadcasts.

These features include support for encryption standards, out-of-band transactions (data is sent out-of-band from the internet), and of course mainnet Lightning payments.

Mr Back also mentioned that his “motivation for working with others on the applied crypto for confidential transactions” was the hope that they would someday become available to use on the Layer 1 Bitcoin blockchain.

“The second layer via Lightning does offer additional privacy and fungibility due to recirculation of funds, and netted information not being settled to the main chain.”

He went on to say that you can already use confidential transactions today in the Liquid sidechain. He concluded by reiterating the target market for the Blockstream product, saying: “Liquid is optimised for traders who trade on exchanges and OTC.”