- F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang is commanding SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, potentially becoming the first human to complete a polar orbit trajectory.
- Wang’s mining pool contributes approximately 10% of Bitcoin‘s hashpower, continuing operations during his space journey.
- He purchased citizenship in St. Kitts & Nevis for 542 BTC in 2017, an amount worth over $40 million today.
Bitcoin Mining Pioneer Takes to Space While Pool Operations Continue
Chun Wang, co-founder of one of Bitcoin’s largest mining pools F2Pool, is set to make history today as he commands SpaceX’s Fram2 mission—potentially becoming the first human to complete a flight trajectory over both of Earth’s poles.
While Wang orbits 250 miles above Earth, his mining operation will continue securing approximately 10% of Bitcoin’s blockchain through its distributed hashpower network.
As one of cryptocurrency’s earliest adopters still active in the community, Wang purchased his first Bitcoin at $8.70 via Paypal on May 28, 2011. His mining pool mined its inaugural block on May 5, 2013—a period when Bitcoin investments would later see returns exceeding 30,000%.
## The Multimillion-Dollar Citizenship
The China-born entrepreneur, who now holds citizenships in Malta and Saint Kitts & Nevis, identifies as a Bitcoin maximalist most of the time, though he has expressed admiration for Ripple and Stellar founder Jed McCaleb.
In a striking example of cryptocurrency’s volatile opportunity costs, Wang paid 542 BTC for his St. Kitts & Nevis citizenship in 2017—an amount that would now exceed $40 million in value.
The space mission represents another significant investment for Wang, who has spent tens of millions preparing for today’s launch. For comparison, previous private spaceflight seats on missions like Inspiration4 have commanded between $200-600 million per person.
## F2Pool’s Role in Bitcoin Mining
F2Pool has maintained a substantial presence in Bitcoin mining for over a decade, contributing more than 12% of the network’s total hashrate over the past three years. The pool operates by coordinating individual miners, managing payouts, and providing technical infrastructure—a business model that has proven extremely profitable.
However, recent research has raised questions about large mining pool decentralization. According to Mononaut, F2Pool has displayed patterns of cooperation with Bitmain-controlled Antpool. Various researchers have suggested that supposedly competitive mining entities actually collaborate on work allocation and share block templates.
The Fram2 mission, weather permitting, will keep Wang and his three crew members—Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge, and Eric Philips—in orbit for 3-5 days. If today’s launch faces delays, backup dates extend from April 1 onward.
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