Good news, future space travelers. Now, you can pay for your flight to outer space with money from cyberspace.
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency introduced a few years ago. Bitcoins can go from person to person and don't have to go through a bank to be cashed. Right now they aren't government regulated. (Via YouTube / weusecoins)
Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson announced the news on Twitter Friday as an alternative to traditional currency — adding he has already had one customer use it to pay. (Via Twitter / @richardbranson)
Branson himself has invested in the digital currency, saying there isn't much of a risk with it. Still, he says he's converting the bitcoins to dollars when he cashes them in. (Via KNBC)
REPORTER: "What price did you get into Bitcoin at, by the way?"
BRANSON: "We got in awhile ago. Anyone who got in early on has done very well, but the people who bought last week have done well." (Via CNBC)
While Branson says Bitcoin has done well, it has proven to be volatile lately. On Monday, the value of a bitcoin skyrocketed from $500 to $900, amounting to a roughly 70 percent jump in value. By Tuesday morning, it fell back to $500. (Via CNN)
And on its website, Virgin notes just two years ago a single bitcoin cost less than $10. Bitcoins have grown so much in popularity, a university in Cyprus is letting students pay their tuition with them.
Branson says hundreds of people have paid about $250,000 for a ticket to space. Right now tickets are going for about 350 bitcoins. But the number could change as the bitcoin's value changes. Virgin Galactic plans to first send customers to space in 2014.
