While crypto enthusiasts declare they’re “going to the moon” when Bitcoin skyrockets, eccentric Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb, is aspiring for the real thing. McCaleb, the sole founder of Vast Space, is ready to sink $1 billion into a commercial space station project dubbed “Haven-1.” Ripple Founder’s Ambitious Billion-Dollar Space Station Venture Jed McCaleb is betting his crypto fortune on Vast’s initiative to create the successor to the aging international space station. “It’s super important that people take this leap from where we are today to this potential world where there’s a lot of people living off the Earth,” McCaleb said during an interview with Bloomberg . “There’s not that many folks that are willing to dedicate the amount of resources and time and risk tolerance that I am.” The station, whose construction started earlier this year, will have 1,600 cubic feet of habitable space. The crypto mogul’s goal is to secure a lucrative contract from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to replace the space station. McCaleb is attempting to pull off the monumental feat despite having very little experience in the aerospace sector. McCaleb, who co-founded the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox in 2010, went on to create the XRP crypto token on the Ripple protocol in 2012, and then Stellar (XLM) in 2014. He has an estimated $3.2 billion fortune — primarily from XRP sales — and is completely prepared to lose an eye-popping $1 billion if Vast Space fails to secure the NASA contract. NASA is scheduled to retire the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030 after approximately 30 years of research. The agency is partnering with private firms to launch its replacement. Ripple’s Chris Larsen Is Rooting For McCaleb’s Aerospace Plan McCaleb’s goal to expand the human race into a multi-planetary species draws similarities to centibillionaire and Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Musk recently rescued NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore who had been stranded at the space station for nine months. “It’s super important that people take this leap from where we are today to this potential world where there’s a lot of people living off the Earth,” McCaleb told Bloomberg . To launch Haven-1 into orbit, Vast is teaming up with SpaceX, which will use its Falcon9 rockets to take Vast’s Haven-1 power modules into space. “This is a big, bold vision by Jed McCaleb,” Ripple co-founder and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen wrote on X. “America used to pursue new frontiers like this before skidding into bureaucracy and doubt. I’m rooting for Vast’s success.” A successful launch in May 2026 would significantly bolster Vast’s position in the fast-growing private space race, and winning a NASA contract would be key for the firm’s expansion in the long term.
