Reason to trust
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.
Blue Origin will now sell New Shepard spaceflight seats in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and selected dollar-pegged stablecoins through a new checkout integration with Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR), the payments company said in a Business Wire announcement. The integration is live and applies to upcoming commercial flights, adding crypto rails alongside traditional methods for one of the worldโs best-known suborbital tourism offerings.
Jeff Bezos Opens Blue Origin To Bitcoin, ETH, SOL Payments
According to the joint release, customers โstarting todayโ can pay for Blue Originโs suborbital flights in BTC, ETH, SOL, USDT and USDC. Shift4 says the flow also supports direct connections to widely used self-custody and exchange wallets โ โpopular wallets like Coinbase and MetaMaskโ โ enabling instant authorization and settlement on chain before conversion to US dollars on the merchant side.
Shift4 framed the move as part of a broader push to reduce friction in high-value commerce. โOur mission has always been to revolutionize commerce by simplifying the transaction process,โ CEO Taylor Lauber said, adding that the company is โthrilled to now extend that vision beyond Earthโ and to offer a โsimple, frictionless experienceโ for Blue Origin customers opting to pay in digital assets.
Related Reading
The company emphasized three merchant benefits that have driven Bitcoin and crypto acceptance in other luxury verticals: tapping a growing base of crypto holders, enabling immediate international transactions, and achieving faster settlement in U.S. dollars at any time of day, seven days a week.
Inside Shift4, the initiative is being led by the firmโs dedicated crypto unit. โCrypto is now a $4 trillion asset class,โ said Alex Wilson, Shift4โs Head of Crypto, arguing that digital assets will become โan increasingly popular way for consumers to pay, particularly for high-end purchases,โ where both buyer and seller can save on fees and delays relative to more complex cross-border card payments.
Related Reading
Blue Originโs offering remains unchanged in terms of flight profile and vehicle: New Shepard is a reusable suborbital rocket-and-capsule system that carries passengers past the Kรกrmรกn Line โ roughly 100 kilometers above sea level โ before returning to West Texas for capsule touchdown under parachutes. The company notes that โmore than 75 humansโ have already flown aboard New Shepard and highlights the vehicleโs panoramic crew-capsule windows, among the largest yet flown, for views of Earth during several minutes of microgravity.
The companies did not disclose seat pricing or specific processing fees for Bitcoin and crypto transactions in todayโs materials. It is also unclear if Jeff Bezosโs Blue Origin converts the Bitcoin and crypto payments into US dollars. What is clear is the operational stance: Shift4 says crypto and stablecoin payments are available โimmediatelyโ for Blue Origin bookings, and directs prospective passengers to the programโs information page, which invites would-be travelers to become โone of the first 1000 people to fly to space.โ
Notably, Blue Origin has already flown one high-profile industry figure: TRON founder Justin Sun. He rode on August 3, 2025, as part of mission NS-34 alongside five other passengers, after first winning Blue Originโs inaugural seat auction in 2021โa $28 million bid whose proceeds were distributed to 19 space-focused nonprofits through the companyโs Club for the Future.
At press time, Bitcoin traded at $118,491.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
