XRP and Space may sound quite unrelated to you. But for famous Jed McCaleb—the founder of popular companies like Mt. Gox, Ripple, and eDonkey— these two industries define the most significant work of his life.
McCaleb, who left Ripple in 2013, is now betting his billion-dollar fortune from XRP sales on his 2021-founded space venture, Vast Space LLC.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, he revealed that Vast is now preparing to launch Haven-1, its first commercial space station with artificial gravity, by May 2026. With the International Space Station (ISS) set to retire by 2030, McCaleb and Vast are ambitiously aiming to secure a NASA contract by mid-2026.
Vast is also collaborating with SpaceX to develop and launch Haven-2. The partnership includes launching the first Haven-2 module in 2028 aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket, followed by additional modules using Starship starting in 2030.
XRP’s Billion Dollar Sales are at Stake on Haven-1 Launch
Vana unveiled the design of its space station, last year. Led by Max Haot, who has previously founded Launcher and LiveStream, Vana Haven-1 is a modular commercial space station designed to succeed the ISS.
Notably, the ISS which is operating since 1998, has now structural wear, air leaks, and outdated systems, making long-term maintenance costly and challenging.
Launching in phases from 2028 to 2032, Vana’s Haven-1 will feature multiple docking ports, a cupola window, research labs, and in-space manufacturing. Funded solely by XRP Co-Founder Jed McCaleb, it aims to support scientific, commercial, and private astronaut missions.
The station will start with a 16m module (2028), expand with three more (2029-30), and add a core module via Starship (2030-32).
Notably, Haven-2 aligns with NASA’s CLD program and aims for ISS replacement, competing for Phase 2 of NASA’s contracts in 2026.
Currently headquartered in Long Beach of California, the manufacturing facility of 2021-founded Vast is as vast as its space – 165,000 sq ft. Notably, it has a working capacity of 600 people and reportedly adds 20 members in its team every weak in manufacturing and engineering domain.
McCaleb – often described as “deliberate risk-taker” by his friends – talking about his vision in an interview said, “I don’t need this much money to live. Some people buy yatches. That’s something which is not interesting to me. What’s interesting to me is building things that change the trajectory of humanity.”
Despite the cold relations between the two due to past disagreements, Chris Larsen, has also applauded McCaleb’s vision calling it a “big and bold vision.”
Glancing at McCaleb’s Unconventional Journey into Space
The man behind Vana, Jed McCaleb, has followed an uncoventional yet execeptional journey from crypto world and XRP to off the Earth in Space.
Notably, in 2010, he founded and repurposed Mt. Gox into one of the first Bitcoin exchanges which quickly became the largest crypto trading platform before he sold it to Mark Karpelès in 2011.
He then co-founded Ripple (originally OpenCoin) with Chris Larsen to create a fast, low-cost blockchain-based payments network. He left Ripple in 2013 after internal disputes.
When he left Ripple in 2013, he retained around 9 billion XRP, which he agreed to a structured selling schedule to prevent market disruption. From 2014 to 2021, he gradually sold, cashing out an estimated $3 to $5 billion based on XRP’s fluctuating price and by July 2022, he sold his final XRP, officially exiting the asset. Notably, it is the fortune from these sales that constitute the source of McCaleb’s majority of backing coming for Vast.
Now, McCaleb’s ambitious space venture, Vast, carries significant financial risk, as nearly half of his fortune is tied to its success.
Though it is competing for NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) contracts, but there’s no guarantee that it will secure funding or customers. Further, creating a rotating habitat for artificial gravity is uncharted territory in space engineering. If the design fails, Haven-1 may lose its biggest competitive advantage.
Nonetheless, for now, his space station’s unexpected connection to XRP and the crypto world ironically showcases yet another unconventional application of cryptocurrencies.
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