Qtum announced last week that it was launching its blockchain into space on a Raspberry Pi. The Qtum Foundation will collaborate with the SpaceChain Foundation to put up a standardised CubeSat. The satellite\'s payload will include Qtum\'s blockchain software installed on the Raspberry device.

CubeSat was first developed in 1999 by developers at Stanford and Cal Poly Universities in California. It is a miniaturised satellite composed of multiple 10cm cubes and was primarily designed for research. Their total mass is usually 1.33kg or less for each unit, and they can be constructed from basic commercial components. Qtum hopes to improve its system reliability and reduce costs by expanding into a satellite network. Lower costs would lead to more industrial usage and a greater adoption of the technology worldwide.

Most original Bitcoin mining was conducted using a PoW (Proof-of-Work) algorithm, which requires a heavy consumption of electricity to verify each transaction. Qtum uses a PoS (Proof of Stake) algorithm which is comparatively lighter on power consumption, and so should reduce overall costs. By launching its blockchain software into space, Qtum will save its users having to invest a great deal of money in special Bitcoin mining equipment, as they will be able to conduct PoS transactions on mobile Dapps, which are faster, easier, and above all, cheaper to use.