Welcome to Forkast Forecasts 2021. On this sequence, leaders, innovators and different visionaries in crypto and blockchain-related fields inform Forkast.Information what they see as essentially the most noteworthy business developments over the previous 12 months and their predictions for the brand new 12 months.
Zee Zheng
Zee Zheng is co-founder and CEO at SpaceChain, a Singapore-based startup that focuses on the combination of blockchain with area expertise.
SpaceChain goals to construct an open-source blockchain-based satellite tv for pc community that can enable customers to develop and run decentralized functions in area.
See associated article: How blockchain can launch more space industry startups into orbit
The corporate has partnered with SpaceX to launch blockchain payloads into area, and its blockchain hardware wallet was put in on the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) in 2019. Final 12 months, SpaceChain accomplished the primary “multi-signature” blockchain transaction in area, sending round 0.0099 BTC (round US$92 on the time) to bitcoin addresses through the blockchain {hardware} on the ISS.
See associated article: Blockchain is shooting for the stars in the new Space Age
Previous to establishing SpaceChain, Zheng co-founded an training start-up. He has spoken on area and blockchain expertise at occasions such because the Milken Institute’s Asia Summit and the Area Tech Summit.
Greatest developments in 2020
- Bitcoin halving: “It’s an important milestone for the business as a result of it occurs solely as soon as each 4 years. Principally, the issue of mining bitcoins is growing, which implies the provision of the bitcoin is getting decrease and decrease. I discover it actually thrilling as a result of this was programmed when Satoshi created bitcoin, and it’s precisely as he deliberate. And that’s the wonderful factor about how blockchain works.”
- First multi-signature blockchain transaction in area: “It’s a big milestone for SpaceChain. I imagine it is going to make a big impact on the business as a result of it exhibits that we’re in a position to retailer and make transactions of bitcoin in area.”
See associated article: Blockchain and Space Law 3.0: How smart contracts can help govern the moon and outer space
- SpaceChain’s grant from EUREKA to develop a decentralized satellite infrastructure (DSI): “The DSI innovation now we have is a future constellation [of satellites] that [work] with completely different firms and completely different international locations’ satellites. So as a substitute of 1 firm increase all of the satellite tv for pc constellations, we’re considering of utilizing blockchain protocol to attach with completely different satellites. We’ve gained fairly a little bit of traction from industry partners and in addition a number of the high institutions.”
Predictions for 2021
- Bitcoin going mainstream: “We’ve seen large funds, together with Grayscale, Ark, MicroStrategy and many others, buying a big quantity of bitcoin. And there are additionally many public firms, corresponding to PayPal, Square and others additionally buying bitcoin. I discover it actually attention-grabbing as a result of solely final 12 months we had been speaking about when bitcoin [was] going to go mainstream. However as we will see, bitcoin is already mainstream.”
See associated article: Institutional investors blast bitcoin prices to new stratosphere
- Retail buyers transferring into bitcoin: “With the quantitative easing measures, we see a big enhance in cash provide. I imagine some huge cash provide will [go] into bitcoin transactions, particularly within the retail market. How precisely that dynamic goes to go, I don’t know, however I feel everyone ought to take a deep have a look at it.”
See associated article: Top 3 predictions about bitcoin and other cryptos in 2021
- More room launches and satellite tv for pc connectivity providers: “Area is [in] a lot larger demand as a result of lots of people are locked up of their homes, distant working with social distancing nonetheless occurring. The connectivity is rather more wanted than ever. [For] any type of area mission, we have to plan two, three, 4 years forward. And I feel this 12 months, each main satellite tv for pc participant is planning to extend their capability. The subsequent couple of years [will] see the conclusion of these plans.”
- Constructing SpaceChain’s Decentralised Satellite tv for pc Infrastructure (DSI): “We’re additionally going to proceed our DSI innovation because it’s now being funded and we have found a very solid partner to work with. We’re going to conduct analysis on how precisely the blockchain protocol [is] going to be written, and find out how to resolve the belief challenge between completely different satellite tv for pc firms by utilizing the facility of blockchain.”
See associated article: Astronaut Chris Hadfield on blockchain’s next frontier: nodes in orbit, and settling the moon
