Starcloud, a startup supported by Nvidia, plans to launch its second spacecraft later this year to begin Bitcoin mining in space orbit. According to Odaily, Philip Johnston, CEO of Starcloud, stated that operating ASIC miners in space orbit is one of the most compelling use cases for space computing. The cost of ASIC miners per kilowatt-hour is approximately $1,000, significantly cheaper than the $30,000 cost of GPUs. Johnston believes that Bitcoin mining currently consumes about 20 GW of continuous power on Earth, and the industry will eventually move to space orbit.
Founded in early 2024, Starcloud aims to build orbital data centers to address AI energy demands. These data centers are powered primarily by solar energy and consist of approximately 88,000 satellites.