Dogecoin heads to the moon, literally

Dogecoin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, is set to head to the moon on a more literal basis than its buyers originally envisioned after a Canadian firm said it will use the crypto to fund a Moon mission next year through Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

On Sunday, Geometric Energy Corp (GEC) said the DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon is scheduled to launch a 40-kilogram satellite, funded entirely by Dogecoin, as part of a lunar payload mission aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket which is due to launch in the first quarter of next year.

The company said the satellite will be used to obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on board with integrated communications and computational systems.

READ: Dogecoin leapfrogs XRP to become world’s fourth-largest crypto

“Having officially transacted with DOGE for a deal of this magnitude, Geometric Energy Corporation and SpaceX have solidified DOGE as a unit of account for lunar business in the space sector”, GEC’s chief executive Samuel Reid said in a statement.

“This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce. We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!” added SpaceX vice president of commercial sales Tom Ochinero.

GEC’s decision to use SpaceX in its Doge-funded escapade to the Moon will make sense to many crypto investors given Musk’s antics on Twitter backing Dogecoin are one of the key reasons behinds its astronomical rise in value so far this year.

The value of the ‘memecoin’ has rocketed around 10,640% so far this year, however, it suffered a sharp drop overnight after hitting a fresh all-time high of US$0.725 on Saturday afternoon.

Dogecoin’s drop has been linked, unsurprisingly, to yet more Musk comments after the billionaire called the crypto a ‘hustle’ while hosting US comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

In early deals in London on Monday, Dogecoin was up 1.5% over the last 24 hours at US$0.539.