Ced McCaleb, who has made a huge fortune in the world of cryptocurrency, is now preparing to invest a large part of his fortune in the space sector. McCaleb, the founder of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange and the XRP cryptocurrency, has launched an ambitious project to build the world's first commercial space station and send it into orbit.
If the project is successful, his startup - Vast Space LLC - could become one of the partners NASA is looking for to replace the International Space Station (ISS), and this deal could be worth billions of dollars. However, if it fails, McCaleb has said that he is fully prepared to lose $ 1 billion on this project.
Founded in 2021, Vast Space LLC is assembling some parts of the space station using SpaceX technologies. The company has already signed a cooperation agreement with SpaceX and, if NASA allows it, SpaceX will transport astronauts to the Vast station.
McCaleb's Entry into the Space Industry
McCaleb has no experience in the space industry. He grew up on a farm in Arkansas and later attended the University of California, Berkeley, but dropped out. His career has largely been based on his strategy of early adoption of new technologies and exiting markets before government regulations became too stringent.
McCaleb's close friend and business partner, Sam Yagan, says he has always been a risk-taker. Many of McCaleb's engineers at Vast, which he leads, have previously worked at SpaceX, giving the company a strong technological edge.
In 2023, Max Haot was appointed CEO of Vast. Haot had previously been the head of a rocket launch company, Launcher, but McCaleb bought his company and brought him to Vast.
Vast Space: The First Private Space Station and Artificial Gravity
Vast Space's goal is not only to build a space station, but also to build artificial gravity systems in space. The company plans to create artificial gravity with rotating modular systems so that future astronauts can work in conditions adapted to Earth conditions.
The company is currently working on its first space station, Haven-1. The station will be 10 meters long and 4.5 meters in diameter. The station will have the necessary conditions for the life of four astronauts, including individual bedrooms, panoramic windows and a communal dining table.
Vast plans to launch its first station into orbit in May 2026. If the first launch is successful, the company will begin building the second-generation Haven-2 station by 2028. This station could be one of the main parts of NASA's program of commercial space stations that will replace the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA Contract and Competition
NASA has announced that the ISS will be retired in 2030 and is looking for partners for commercial space stations to replace it. Vast's main competitors are companies such as Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Voyager Space Holdings. However, Vast is the only project that is fully funded by McCaleb's personal investment.
Max Haot said that winning the NASA contract is vital for the company:
"If we don't get NASA's support, it will be difficult for the space station business to be commercially viable."
NASA will announce the first official contracts for commercial space stations by mid-2026. These contracts will allow the winning companies to build space bases in orbit and provide services to NASA.
McCaleb's Cryptocurrency Career and Move to Vast
Jed McCaleb first became known in 2000 for founding a file-sharing platform called eDonkey. He later founded the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange in 2010.
Mt. Gox became the world's largest Bitcoin exchange for a while, but in 2014, it lost $400 million in cryptocurrency due to hacking attacks and went bankrupt. This event was considered the biggest failure in the history of cryptocurrency until the collapse of the FTX exchange.
McCaleb later created the XRP (Ripple) cryptocurrency and earned $ 3.2 billion from XRP between 2014 and 2022.
McCaleb, who directed his billions earned in the cryptocurrency field to the Vast project, said that he was dedicating himself to a new challenge:
"Since childhood, I have been looking at the sky and thinking about how magnificent space is. With this project, I want to realize the possibility of living outside the Earth for people."
Future Space Stations and Vast's Competition
Vast's main goal is to develop technologies that will ensure long-term human habitation in space. The company's biggest challenge will be to build space life support systems. The ISS has complex systems for recycling water and oxygen. However, Haven-1 will not have these systems, since astronauts will stay there for a short time.
If NASA wins the contract, Vast will invest more heavily in developing technologies needed for long-term human habitation.
Space travel
Many companies in the space industry are failing due to financial difficulties. But McCaleb's personal investment gives Vast an edge over the competition. Chad Anderson, founder of Space Capital, said:
"Vast is the only company that is completely self-funded, and that makes them unique."
Conclusion
Jad McCaleb's space project is still in its early stages, but if Vast can achieve its first successes, it will open a new era for the development of a commercial base in space.
The company's main goal is to win a contract with NASA and build a new platform that will replace the International Space Station in the future. If these plans come true, McCaleb could also sign a major revolution in the field of space technology after cryptocurrency.
