XRP to the Stars: Ripple Co-Founder McCaleb Joins Forces With SpaceX & NASA in $1B Mission From Crypto to Cosmos

Jed McCaleb XRP co-founder has shared his ambitious vision for his pace company. Based on his interview with Bloomberg his new company Vast, will turn humanity into a multiplanetery species. In this interview, he also mentioned that his company is in the process of building a space station named Haven-1. This space station will be launched into orbit in May 2026 and if successful it can bring in more funds. This is because the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is set to start replacing the International Space Station. In 2026. 

A billionaire is risking half of his cryptocurrency fortune to build the first commercial space station. Success could win his startup, Vast Space, a lucrative NASA contract to replace the ISS.

Failure could cost him $1 billion https://t.co/s1srj26PHp pic.twitter.com/DyPMXEsm6S

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) March 20, 2025

This administration likely will give lucrative contracts to private companies that could assist in building the replacement space station. If this company fails to persuade NASA, it will likely have a hard time reaching commercial success. Additionally, it is also mentioned in such circumstances McCaleb will lose nearly $1 billion. He also commented on the possibility of such a loss. “There are not that many folks who are willing to dedicate the amount of resources and time and risk tolerance that I am,”

Sam Yagan on McCaleb: A Bold Visionary with High Risks

Sam Yagan who is a long-time friend of McCaleb, commented on this development and referred to McCaleb as a “deliberate risk-taker.” “He’s maybe slightly eccentric in his willingness to take what you and I would see as a lot of risks.” McCaleb further stressed the importance of his decision and his company’s aim of multi-planetary life and civilization. He said that it is very important for some people to look past our current life on Earth. In his opinion, this can get us closer to a world where many people live on other planets.

SpaceX Support Puts Vast on the Launchpad to Success

For the production of parts and delivery of its space station and crew to orbit, Vast is partnering with SpaceX. For instance, SpaceX will provide the docking station which connects the space station to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. Additionally, an internet connection for the Vast’s space station will be also provided by SpaceX. The flights for delivery of parts and personnel have been already booked and only require NASA’s approval. Vast’s CEO and president, Max Haot, is a former major employee of SpaceX which further strengthens the SpaceX Vast Partnership. 

One of the key aspirations of McCaleb’s Vast is to introduce artificial gravity in future space stations. This feature will probably be created by high-speed rotation of the station. Such features are necessary as the current personnel of the International Space Station suffers from various physical issues. However, the company is still far from such features as Heaven-1 will not have the capabilities that ISS currently has. The ISS can turn dirty water into drinkable water and produce oxygen from carbon dioxide. Heaven-1 is said to be a short-term station and will not have such features.

Jed McCaleb’s Billion-Dollar Journey Through Crypto

Jed McCaleb has many well-known companies under his belt as he entered the crypto world as the founder of  Mt. Gox. However he sold most of his shares in 2011 and exited the company, one year later he created the XRP token. McCaleb XRP co-founder owned 9% of all XRP tokens in the market. However, he sold most of his tokens in 2013 and left Ripple, although he has profited billions of dollars from Ripple.  A year later he started the Stellar network and the  Stellar token which now has reached $8.7B in market capitalization.

Crypto King to Cosmic Dreamer: McCaleb’s New Challenge

As McCaleb’s past shows he has founded many successful companies and has not been involved in any controversies. With such a track record and the SpaceX Vast Partnership, the future of Vast seems to be bright. However, the lack of experience in the field of space technology and fierce competition threaten McCaleb’s company.