Why PayPal Galactic?

Commerce in Space May Mean a Whole New Type of Currency

by samuel coniglio

Just when you think the world could not get weirder, PayPal is going to space! The giant Internet finance company announced a few weeks ago that it wants to study how to do banking off the planet. Before you write off the idea as some PR guy smoking too much weed, ask yourself this question: what has been going on in the space industry to justify such an announcement? The answer is quite bit more than you know.

The last big news about space travel that most people not in the space industry heard was NASA’s space shuttles were retired, and there is nothing to replace them. What doesn’t make the headlines are the dozens of private startup companies that are trying not only replace the space shuttle, but also create new markets. The two highest profile companies, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, are getting respectable media coverage due to their extroverted multi-millionaire CEOs, Elon Musk and Richard Branson. But have you heard of their competitors, XCOR Aerospace and Blue Origin? Or have you heard of asteroid mining, led by companies Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries? Concepts that were in the realm of science fiction are getting tantalizingly close to reality.

So what does this mean to you, Joe and Jane Everyperson? It means new jobs in engineering, science, and manufacturing. It means inspiration for a positve future. It means that your children may buy a ticket to visit a moon colony, while you could only buy a ticket to the edge of space, which is what Virgin Galactic and XCOR are offering now.

There is a maker movement afoot in this world. People are re-learning how to build things with their hands, not just tap on a computer keyboard or iPad touchscreen. Kids and adults are working with Arduino microprocessors, 3D printers, and laser cutters to create and sell items that could not even exist five years ago. New businesses are being formed from these hobbies. And now, people can even build space satellites and robots for fun and profit! The field of crowdsourcing and crowd funding are making it possible to for you to start a space project on a small budget, and get other people to help you fund and build it.

With all this momentum, it appears from PayPal’s perspective that it is only a matter of time before people are traveling off-world. So PayPal Galactic is working with SETI and the Space Tourism Society and the Silicon Valley Space Center to figure out what the future looks like. Outer space begins at 62 miles (100 kilometers) straight above your head, and it is out of the jurisdiction of all nations. From PayPal’s perspective, it thinks commerce in space may mean a whole new type of currency.

PayPal Galactic promo video:

An announcement of PayPal Galactic’s formation was held at the SETI offices in Mountain View, California in late June. Dr. Sean Casey, co-founder of the Silicon Valley Space Center, was a featured speaker. Speaking on behalf of the entrepreneurial NewSpace community, Dr. Casey stated that the future of commercial spaceflight relies upon fundable business models where entrepreneurs can add value within a developing NewSpace ecosystem. Other speakers at the event included David Marcus, President of PayPal; Dr. Frank Drake, SETI Board of Directors; Dr. Margaret Race, SETI Staff Scientist; Mr. John Spencer, Space Tourism Society; and Dr. Buzz Aldrin, NASA Astronaut.

See the announcement video:

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