Venezuela sees its first Blockstream Bitcoin satellite node

A Bitcoin services startup based in South America has just launched the first Bitcoin node connected to the Blockstream satellite network within Venezuela.

According to a Sept. 25 blog post from startup Cryptobuyer, the launch of the node will keep the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain updated for Venezuela users without being dependent on a local internet connection. Crypto training course provider AnibalCripto deployed the node while CryptoBuyer provided financial and logistical support. 

“Having a 24/7 always-available digital money system independent of local internet infrastructure is now a reality,” said AnibalCripto CEO Anibal Garrido. “With this development, we are no longer subject to requirements such as the use of an Internet Service Provider, which may attempt to break the principles of privacy and decentralization that are the foundations of this cypherpunk technology.”

The addition of the node had the ability to offer “real and tangible products that solve real-world problems” in Venezuela, according to CryptoBuyer CEO Jorge Farias. As of 2017, the country had one of the slowest recorded internet speeds in the world at 2.8 Mbps. Technology which offers internet-free Bitcoin transactions could be quite appealing to crypto users. Farias said:

“Users can’t afford to be cut off from the Bitcoin network.”

Cryptobuyer stated it would assist in the installation of additional satellite nodes in the capital, Caracas, as well as the southern state of Bolivar state, with the goal of providing all Venezuelans better access to the Bitcoin blockchain. Users within range of the nodes will reportedly be able to connect through local mesh networks.

The Blockstream service — consisting of six geostationary satellites — provides information sharing to crypto users in nearly every corner of the world. The Canada-based blockchain company announced in May that it had upgraded its satellite network that carries the Bitcoin blockchain for the first time since 2018. The company stated the technology had “the ability to sync a Bitcoin full node all the way from the genesis block up to today.”