Those who think bitcoin could become a world currency might want to think even bigger: Sir Richard Branson announced that his commercial space flight venture Virgin Galactic will accept the currency for space flights.
In a blog post, Branson explained that one passenger, a female flight attendant from Hawaii, has already purchased a Virgin Galactic ticket using bitcoins and he expects "many more to follow in her footsteps."
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Branson went on to praise the digital currency. "Bitcoins aren’t yet formally recognized by governments as a currency but with some regulation I hope that it will become more widely accepted," he wrote.
Virgin Galactic's first commercial flight is expected to take off next August. Branson, his wife Holly and son Sam are among the passengers on the maiden voyage. No other passengers have been named, but celebrities including Kate Winslet and Ashton Kutcher have also booked flights. A flight will set you back $250,000, or 329 bitcoins at Friday's price of $759.
The company's embrace of bitcoin comes after a university in Cyprus announced it would also accept the currency for tuition payments. Online travel firm CheapAir starting taking bitcoins this week.
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Image: Virgin Galactic