JPMorgan Carried Out 'Nerdy' Test of Blockchain Payments in Space, Exec Says

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has been testing blockchain payments between satellites in earth orbit, executives told Reuters on Wednesday.

“The idea was to explore [internet of things] payments in a fully decentralized way,” Umar Farooq, CEO of the bank's blockchain arm, Onyx, said. The blockchain team worked with Danish company GOMspace, which rents out the use of its satellites.

The tests ultimately showed that blockchain technology could power payments between everyday objects, according to the bank.

“Nowhere is more decentralized and detached from Earth than space. Secondly, we are nerdy and it was a much more fun way to test IoT,” said Farooq.

The internet of things (IoT) describes a network of physical objects that are embedded with sensors or software and can share data.

Christine Moy, the global head of Liink, Onyx by JPMorgan, tweeted:

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Consensus

33

17

51

08

JPMorgan Carried Out 'Nerdy' Test of Blockchain Payments in Space, Exec Says

The experiment was to trial payments for the internet of things in a "fully decentralized way," said Umar Farooq.

10 Years of Decentralizing the Future