SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XYO Network, the technology that bridges blockchain to the physical world, today announces a blockchain industry breakthrough, in its partnership with space industry leader Spaceflight. The unprecedented partnership and subsequent launch into orbit of XYO Networks’ “EtherX” spacecraft is the first step in achieving its mission of decentralizing the world’s location infrastructure, which currently revolves around the centralized Global Positioning System (“GPS”), which is owned by the U.S. Air Force. Context of this announcement, as well as the two-phase rollout of the company’s plans, are detailed below.

XYO Network recently drew positive industry attention for executing a geospatial blockchain smart contract using a drone at its inaugural Spatial Summit event in front of more than 700 attendees. During the same event, the company launched the XYO MainNet, dubbed “WinterNet,” making it the world’s first Geospatial Blockchain platform to go live. The network is now fully functional. dApp developers worldwide have begun creating location-based decentralized applications, called “Geodapps.” Now, with the rollout of its satellite network, the XYO Network will gain unprecedented coverage to triangulate and validate its ground-based geospatial blockchain nodes, collectively known as “Sentinels.”

PHASE ONE

In the initial stage involving key technology partners to be announced shortly, XYO will be in a strong position to deliver an unprecedented level of location certainty to XYO Network “edge nodes,” which are powered and operated by community members all over the globe (“Geominers”).

The current XYO Network is comprised of multiple relative location-based “mesh networks.” These mesh network are backed by a cryptographic protocol, underpinning the XYO Network. Assume a given area has its own, self-contained mesh network. Within that network all of the XYO Network edge nodes, essentially permissionless geospatial hardware operated by Geominers. Smartphones running the XYO app (also considered to be Sentinels), in the hands of people across the area, then serve as the nodes or endpoints. The connections between them, and the data transferred back and forth, are invisible. Each of these nodes can communicate and verify location, resulting in what we have named “geomining,” and this geomining delivers XYO tokens for users.

Any user within the mesh network can participate, yet the challenges remain: What happens if a user is in a small town or remote location, miles from a network? How can we link these numerous, self-contained, geographically dispersed mesh networks? How can a person with a sentinel in Tennessee communicate with a person with a geomining kit in France? The answer to all of these questions lies in satellites and space.

PHASE TWO - PARTNERSHIP WITH SPACEFLIGHT FOR A SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCH

For Phase Two, XYO Network will launch its own custom satellite with Spaceflight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in late 2019, on SpaceX CRS-19. XYO will send its first satellite, named the “EtherX,” into orbit, in a nod to the “Ethereum” blockchain platform.

“We're pleased to provide launch services to XYO Network on an upcoming SpaceX mission,” noted Melissa Wuerl, vice president of business development at Spaceflight. “Our business is based on helping innovative, visionary companies get to space and we’re looking forward to assisting XYO Network execute their business plan.”

XYO Network Co-Founder Scott Scheper commented: “Speaking personally, Ethereum inspired me to go from a long-time blockchain observer to going ‘all in’. My work is now 100 percent focused on blockchain technologies. What the Ethereum developer community and Vitalik Buterin have built, has moved the entire ecosystem forward, period. As an ode to Ethereum and Vitalik, we decided to name our first satellite the ‘EtherX.’”

The EtherX is only the first of XYO Network’s fleet of satellites. The company intends to launch a fleet of satellites named after important cryptographers and individuals who inspired them. In fact, XYO Network plans on enabling their global community of “Geohackers” to fully participate by purchasing a ‘stake’ in each satellite.

“Satellites are our first step toward building out an open location network, legitimately positioned to displace the U.S. Air Force’s GPS monopoly. Furthermore, by pairing it with XYO’s cryptographically-backed protocol, we will deliver a layer of un-spoofable location certainty which GPS can never match,” continued XYO Network Co-Founder and CMO Scott Scheper. “Every wildly successful company in history comes to the point where they can play it safe, or think bigger. Those who are part of our movement already know how we do things. We’re the crazy ones. We’re not just going to launch to the figurative moon, we’re going to the literal one. Screw it, let’s do it.”

For 2019 the XYO mission is a literal moonshot that will dramatically improve the company’s mesh network and deliver global coverage and enhance its cryptographically-powered location network. Subscribe to our blog on Medium here, or join our Geohacker community!

About XYO Network

XYO Network is an effort to create a vast, geospatial, blockchain-powered location network currently under development with the goal to provide accurate, certainty-driven location data on everything from cars to smartphones. By combining location beacons with IoT and mobile devices, the XYO Network ecosystem plans to deliver the verified coordinates and data needed to execute smart contracts, run smart cities, foster financial transactions, and power a legion of location-centric applications. For more information, please visit https://xyo.network.