Crypto company LunarCrush has announced a bold plan to send a treasure of 62 Bitcoin, worth around $1.5 million, to the moon for an unprecedented treasure hunt. The prize will be accessible to anyone who manages to reach the lunar surface and locate a specific private key etched onto a MAPP Rover.

Funding the Lunar Adventure

To finance the $1.5 million prize, LunarCrush intends to sell a collection of Bitcoin-secured NFTs at $250 each, with one-fourth of the proceeds allocated to the lunar stash. The crypto firm is collaborating with commercial space startup Lunar Outpost to provide the MAPP Rover, which is scheduled to be launched into space on a SpaceX rocket later this year. The exact launch date remains unconfirmed due to “security reasons.”

The ambitious project aims to inspire communities to unlock a new era of exploration, according to LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani. The company hopes that classrooms, groups, companies, and even decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) will join forces to reach the moon and share the treasure chest’s rewards. Vezzani likened the endeavor to Willy Wonka’s “golden ticket” for the Web3 era.

However, the potential reward of $1.5 million may not be enough to offset the cost of a moon mission, which currently stands at a much higher price point. For example, NASA‘s upcoming CAPSTONE moon mission costs nearly $10 million, and that’s just for a small robotic probe designed to orbit the moon without astronauts or rovers. Despite the cost, LunarCrush remains optimistic about the project’s ability to spark innovation and inspire people to push the boundaries of human exploration.