Perhaps the children of the future won’t look up at the moon and suggest that it’s made of green cheese – instead, they’ll say it’s made of cryptocurrency!
Tech media are reporting on a new blockchain lunar registry called Diana that’s purporting to explain who owns the moon.
The decentralized blockchain system, makers say, is going to essentially lay out a plan for defining “ownership” of our serene satellite.
A white paper posted on the Diana site goes into greater detail, but spends some of the first portions talking about why the moon is not able to be “owned” in a traditional way (despite the American flag planted on that notable day almost exactly fifty years ago.)
“An object is defined as something that can be managed or controlled,” writes Jason Goo. “Management and supervision of the Moon are impossible, so it does not fall under the category of object, so ownership of the Moon will not be recognized. It is nothing more than a scam.
The Moon, as part of mankind’s universal heritage, definitely cannot be owned by an individual.”
After detailing the space wars of the past few decades, Goo goes into the value of the moon, declaring that “the moon is not a wasteland, it’s a gem” and citing terraforming potential and minerals.
In describing a sort of citizen’s movement for the moon, the white paper goes into some of today’s international squabbles over moon management:
“Some countries, including the US, are using their national laws to legitimize private companies owning and doing business on the Moon. The UN adopted a separate agreement for the Moon in 1979, according to which the Moon and natural resources buried therein are the common heritage of humanity. However, some important countries such as the US and Russia refused to ratify this agreement. In short, we can expect to see some disputes over ownership of outer space and the Moon shortly.”
Essentially, by building a decentralized system tied to portions of the tangible sphere, Diana seems to be a route for the common populace to take ownership of one of our most astounding natural resources, in order to make sure it doesn’t fall into the pockets of the rich and powerful through their private interests.
Registration price tables show how buy-in works, and a roadmap lays out scheduling and logistics.
Look for this sort of new societal initiative to take on as we see the blockchain increasingly applied to practical, and what some would call semi-practical, concerns.