Stalwart British technology magazine The Register announced in July that it would be launching a second aeronautics project (a follow-up to its first, called PARIS). Tentatively dubbed “LOHAN” (Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator), today it was revealed that NXT Coin would be going along with it. The coin’s development team has sponsored the project and, as a result, NXT Client will be loaded aboard the spacecraft’s Raspberry Pi.
While NXT works on projects such as “SuperNET” – “an initiative to use the core NXT technology, supplemented by a range of third party applications to create a unified network of cryptocurrencies, linking together all of the best systems available” – [Dan] Kindly admitted that involvement with LOHAN is its most exciting current initiative.
Of course, NXT is not the first coin to have astronautic ambitions. Back in May, Dogecoin signed on to a lunar race as reported by this magazine. However, though there is no set launch date for LOHAN as of yet (weather plays a huge role), the fact that they did a test launch at the end of October seems to imply that the official launch will take place long before “the 4th quarter of 2015.”
The LOHAN rocket has a “Playmonaut,” that is, a Lego man who will pilot the craft. While this project is nowhere near as serious as the Lunar Iditarod, which is likely to have bets and thousands of avid fans, it is “giant leap” forward for NXT.
According to NXT marketing manager Dan Kindly, NXT is “currently positioned at #5 by market capitalisation (after Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple and BitsharesX) with a total NXT value of $37 million.” Its price as of this writing was ~5,000 Satoshi per NXT, or almost $0.02 (via Cryptsy).
NXT Seeks to Innovate Using the Technology Bitcoin was Built on
However, a quick scan of CoinMarketCap reveals that Mr. Kindly’s estimation is a full $2 million higher than the coin’s capitalization has been in the past 30 days. At some point in the last 90 days, though, it did reach into the $40 million range. Mr. Kindly was not immediately available for comment, as his contact information is nowhere made apparent on any of the NXT-related web sites. Nor does he show up in Google searches relating to NXT, which is odd, since he is “marketing manager.”
NXT is an interesting coin because it does not only seek to make money for those who hold it, but seeks to innovate in various spaces using the technology Bitcoin was built on. One move in this direction was the recent unleashing of the Nxxty Messaging App. It also has a marketplace, something that other altcoins of similar age have yet to achieve. The community around it seems to be a bit more motivated than other altcoins, and this might be why it has the 6th greatest market capitalization at present (in contradiction of Dan Kindly’s claim above.)
Additionally, various companies have been formed around NXT, an example of which is NXTmania, a game development company.
All around, NXT accompanying an orbital rocket into space is exciting news for the cryptocurrency world. What will other coins do to match this? What happens NXT? Comment below!
Images from jurvetson/Flickr and Shutterstock.
