SpaceX's First Crewed Mars Flyby Mission Secures Bitcoin Mining Tycoon Chun Wang
Chun Wang, co-founder of F2Pool and a prominent figure in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry, has secured two seats on SpaceX's upcoming crewed Mars flyby missions. This development marks a significant milestone for private space exploration, with Wang set to command the first crewed mission to Mars.
Wang, who funded and commanded the Fram2 mission in 2025, the first crewed flight to orbit directly over Earth's poles, is no stranger to spaceflight. He has purchased seats on two upcoming Starship missions, which will travel beyond the Earth-Moon system, swing past Mars, and return home.
Before embarking on the interplanetary journey, Wang will join a weeklong commercial flight around the Moon with Dennis and Akiko Tito, passing roughly 125 miles above the lunar surface. This move is seen as part of a wider pattern, where early crypto founders are redirecting capital into adjacent fields such as artificial intelligence, energy, and aerospace.
Wang's motivations for purchasing seats on the Mars flyby missions stem from his desire to keep Mars on SpaceX's agenda. He believes that government competition will get humans to the Moon regardless, but has little confidence that Mars will happen within his lifetime without private pressure.