Bitcoin Is Heading to the Moon and for Once It's Meant Literally, Courtesy of BitMEX

"(Insert coin name here) is going to the moon" is said so often by people trying to get the prices of their favorite cryptocurrencies into figurative outer space it's become hackneyed. Lately, however, the phrase has taken on a more literal meaning.

• In early May it was announced SpaceX will launch the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon” early next year with the Elon Musk-helmed company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency as payment.
• Then, this past Thursday, SpaceX launched an Ethereum node to the International Space Station, the first time such a node has been put into space. Docking occurred Saturday.
• BitMEX, however, is taking it even further, targeting one large step for bitcoin. The crypto exchange recently announced plans to deposit a physical wallet containing a single bitcoin on the surface of the moon. The wallet will be in the form of a commemorative coin.
• To do this, BitMEX is helping to fund space robotics company Astrobotic's efforts to put its Peregrine commercial lander on the moon. That landing is scheduled for Q4, just ahead of "DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon," a fact BitMEX was happy to point out.
• "One Dogecoin protagonist/EV car innovator/space enthusiast recently laid down the gauntlet in saying he plans to send [dogecoin] to the Moon. We’ve nothing against Dog Money, we felt it was only right to help bitcoin get there first."
• That's some dark-side-of-the-moon-type shade right there.