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A Technical Policy and Technological Analysis of a Satellite-Hosted Blockchain System for Sustaining African Development

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Space Fostering African Societies

Part of the book series: Southern Space Studies ((SOSPST))

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Abstract

Spaced-based services, including financial services, are proving more affordable and accessible to more people than ever before in history. Coupled with the rising acceptance of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, satellite-hosted financial services can be delivered to people around the world, particularly for the benefit of remittance-senders and displaced persons. An accessible and secure blockchain-based financial system hosted via a satellite platform wields strong potential in promoting sustainable development in Africa. This research explores the technical policy and technological considerations that would be necessary to implement such a system. The article explores the feasibility of such a satellite-hosted financial system and its potential benefits for reducing the transaction costs of remittances sent from developed to developing countries, in addition to its benefits for assisting internationally and internally displaced person to store and access their wealth irrespective of their ultimate settlement location.

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Notes

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  2. 2.

    Ibid.

  3. 3.

    United Nations, “Assistance to refugees, returnees, and displaced persons in Africa”, 2017, United Nations, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/N1726487.pdf.

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    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “Africa”, 2018, United Nations, http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/africa.html.

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    United Nations, “The Sustainable Development Agenda”, 2016, www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/.

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  9. 9.

    Ibid.

  10. 10.

    Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “FDI flows”, 2019, https://data.oecd.org/fdi/fdi-flows.htm.

  11. 11.

    Lindgren, David, “Global Remittances and Space-Based Cryptocurrencies: A Transformation Opportunity for the Post-2030 Agenda”, Post 2030-Agenda and the Role of Space. In: Annette Froehlich (ed) The UN 2030 Goals and Their Further Evolution Beyond 2030 for Sustainable Development, (Cham: Springer, 2018), pp. 11–25.

  12. 12.

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  23. 23.

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  24. 24.

    Leigh Cuen, “From Ghana to the Bronx, These Teen Bitcoiners Are Building the Future”.

  25. 25.

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  27. 27.

    Ibid.

  28. 28.

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  33. 33.

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  34. 34.

    Ibid.

  35. 35.

    Ibid.

  36. 36.

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  37. 37.

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  38. 38.

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  39. 39.

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  40. 40.

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  41. 41.

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  42. 42.

    Ibid.

  43. 43.

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  44. 44.

    The Law Library of Congress, “Regulation of Cryptocurrency Around the World”, June 2018, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/law/help/cryptocurrency/cryptocurrency-world-survey.pdf.

  45. 45.

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  46. 46.

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  47. 47.

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  48. 48.

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  49. 49.

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  50. 50.

    Nguena, Christian Lambert, “Financial Innovation and Pro Poor & Inclusive Growth in Developing Countries: The Role of Mobile Banking & Financial Services Development in Africa”, November 2017, Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of African Economists, African Union, https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/34631-doc-01_summaries_recommendations_final.pdf.

  51. 51.

    African Development Bank, “Tracking Africa’s Progress in Figures”, 2014, African Development Bank, https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Tracking_Africa%E2%80%99s_Progress_in_Figures_-_Infrastructure_Development.pdf.

  52. 52.

    Ibid.

  53. 53.

    Ernst Messerschmid and Stefanos Fasoulas, “Raumfahrtsysteme”, 2017, Springer.

  54. 54.

    Ibid.

  55. 55.

    Ibid.

  56. 56.

    Ibid.

  57. 57.

    Peter J.G. Teunissen and Oliver Montenbruck, “Springer Handbook of Global Navigation Satellite Systems”, Springer.

  58. 58.

    Ibid.

  59. 59.

    Oliver Montenbruck and Eberhard Gill, “Satellite Orbits”, 2000, Springer.

  60. 60.

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  61. 61.

    Gerard Maral and Michel Bousquet, “Satellite Communications Systems”, 2009, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  62. 62.

    Gerard Maral and Michel Bousquet, “Satellite Communications Systems”, 2009, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  63. 63.

    Gerard Maral and Michel Bousquet, “Satellite Communications Systems”, 2009, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cape Town Space Lab, Washington DC, USA

    David Lindgren

  2. University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Victor Hertel

  3. American University, Washington DC, USA

    Asha Coutrier

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  1. David Lindgren
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  2. Victor Hertel
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Correspondence to David Lindgren .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. SpaceLab, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Annette Froehlich

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Lindgren, D., Hertel, V., Coutrier, A. (2021). A Technical Policy and Technological Analysis of a Satellite-Hosted Blockchain System for Sustaining African Development. In: Froehlich, A. (eds) Space Fostering African Societies. Southern Space Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59158-8_8

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