Jed McCaleb XRP co-founder has shared his ambitious vision for his pace company.

Based on his interview with Bloomberg his new company Vast, will turn humanity into a multiplanetery species.

A billionaire is risking half of his cryptocurrency fortune to build the first commercial space station. Success could win his startup, Vast Space, a lucrative NASA contract to replace the ageing International Space Station. Failure could cost him $1 billion and leave a large hole in the emerging market for private outposts in low Earth orbit.

At least two other startups are also developing commercial space stations, but they are focusing on smaller modules that could be launched as early as next year. Vast’s plans are far more ambitious: its Haven-1 station, which is set to begin operations in May 2026, will be capable of housing a crew of four to six and will have living and working space measuring about 1,800 square feet—roughly the size of a small house.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has signaled that it likely will give lucrative contracts to private companies that could assist in building the replacement space station and in providing services such as food and hygiene products. If this company fails to persuade NASA, it will likely have a hard time reaching commercial success and attracting the necessary investments for future projects. In such circumstances, McCaleb will lose nearly $1 billion of his cryptocurrency fortune. He isn’t concerned.

“There are not that many folks who are willing to dedicate the amount of resources and time and risk tolerance that I am,” McCaleb said.

A Long-Time Friend Describes Him as a 'Deliberate Risk-Taker'

Sam Yagan, a long-time friend of McCaleb who serves as an advisor at startups, described him as a “deliberate risk-taker.”

“He’s maybe slightly eccentric in his willingness to take what you and I would see as a lot of risks. But he’s also somebody who really thinks through the implications of his decisions and commits fully to the ones he makes,” Yagan said.

McCaleb further stressed the importance of his decision and his company’s aim of multi-planetary life and civilization. He said that it is very interesting for people to look past our current life on Earth. In his opinion, this can get us closer to a world where many people live on other planets.

“I view it as an all-or-nothing proposition. We’re either going to become a multiplanetary species, or we’re going to remain here on Earth. To me, it feels like there’s no middle ground. And I think it’s important that we continue moving toward that goal. I want to see people living and working in space, and I think we can get there. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s definitely achievable. We’re making good progress with Vast and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

SpaceX Support Puts Vast on the Launchpad to Success

For the production of parts and delivery of its space station and crew to orbit, Vast is partnering with SpaceX. For instance, SpaceX will provide the docking station which connects the space station to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. Additionally, an internet connection for the Vast’s space station will be also provided by SpaceX. The flights for delivery of parts and personnel have been already booked and only require NASA’s approval. Vast’s CEO and president, Max Haot, is a former major employee of SpaceX which further strengthens the SpaceX Vast Partnership.

One of the key aspirations of McCaleb’s Vast is to introduce artificial gravity in future space stations. This feature will probably be created by high-speed rotation of the station. Such features are necessary as the current personnel of the International Space Station suffer from various physical issues. However, the company is still far from such features as Heaven-1 will not have the capabilities that ISS currently has. The ISS can turn dirty water into drinkable water and produce oxygen from carbon dioxide. Heaven-1 is said to be a short-term station and will not have such features.

Jed McCaleb’s Billion-Dollar Journey Through Crypto

Jed McCaleb has many well-known companies in his portfolio as he entered the crypto world as the founder of Mt. Gox. However he sold most of his shares in 2011 and exited the company, one year later he created the XRP token. McCaleb XRP co-founder owned 9% of all XRP tokens in the market. However, he sold most of his tokens in 2013 and left Ripple, although he has profited billions of dollars from Ripple. A year later he started the Stellar network and the Stellar token which now has reached $8.7B in market capitalization.

Crypto King to Cosmic Dreamer: McCaleb’s New Challenge

As McCaleb’s past shows he has founded many successful companies and has not been involved in any controversies. With such a track record and the SpaceX Vast Partnership, the future of Vast seems to be bright. However, the lack of experience in the field of space technology and fierce competition threaten McCaleb’s company.