Spacecoin has secured a transmission license from the Communications Authority to deploy satellite internet and IoT monitoring services, setting up a direct challenge to Starlink in one of Africa’s most connected markets.
The license allows Spacecoin to test its blockchain-based satellite network in Kenya, focusing on expanding connectivity in underserved regions. The company will provide the satellite infrastructure while local partners handle ground operations and user support.
Kenya is a strategic foothold for Spacecoin. The country has emerged as East Africa’s tech hub, with relatively strong internet infrastructure in urban areas but major gaps in rural connectivity.
It’s also one of 26 African countries where Starlink already operates, giving SpaceX a big head start in the race for satellite internet customers across the continent.
Starlink’s advantage cannot be overstated. SpaceX has launched over 8,000 satellites and built a vertically integrated system that includes its own rockets, ground stations, and user terminals.
The company has signed up millions of customers worldwide and continues to expand rapidly across Africa, where traditional internet infrastructure often can’t reach remote areas economically.
Spacecoin, however, is taking a fundamentally different approach. Instead of building a centralized network like Starlink, the company is developing what it calls a decentralized satellite system running on blockchain technology.
Users would access the network through tokenized payments on the Creditcoin blockchain, with the company promising censorship-resistant internet that operates independently of centralized control.
The company launched three CTC-1 satellites in late November 2024 from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. These satellites are designed to test real-time communication between spacecraft and demonstrate how the network would handle users moving between satellite coverage zones.
Earlier in 2024, Spacecoin’s first test satellite successfully transmitted encrypted blockchain data from Chile to Portugal, proving the core technology could work in space.
Spacecoin founder Tae Oh argues that regulatory bodies in key regions are recognizing that decentralized satellite technology can deliver scalability and affordability that traditional infrastructure cannot.
The company plans to launch “Starmesh,” an encrypted network promising private browsing and access to decentralized web services.
But the gap between demonstration satellites and a working commercial network is enormous. While Spacecoin has proven its blockchain-in-space concept with a handful of satellites, Starlink is already delivering high-speed internet to paying customers across Kenya and much of Africa.
SpaceX’s manufacturing scale, launch capability, and established ground infrastructure give it advantages that will be difficult for any competitor to match.
READ: Starlink Drives 115% Growth in Kenya’s Satellite Internet
Time will tell whether blockchain integration and decentralization will be enough to carve out market share in Kenya and across Africa.
Spacecoin is betting that in markets where internet freedom and affordability matter most, its alternative approach will find an audience.
