Crypto Billionaire Chun Wang to Pilot SpaceX Mars Flyby

SpaceX named Chun Wang, co‑founder of Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool, as pilot for its first crewed Mars flyby, a mission expected to last about two years and travel beyond the Earth‑Moon system. The announcement aired during the live broadcast of Starship V3’s first launch attempt, which was scrubbed.

Company officials have not given a target launch window for the Mars flyby or for an earlier lunar precursor flight. The schedule depends on Starship V3 achieving orbital flight. A second launch attempt for that vehicle was set for Friday evening; if the test reaches orbit, SpaceX may set dates for the lunar and Mars missions.

Wang co‑founded F2Pool in 2013. Data from Hashrate Index shows the pool currently controls roughly 10% of Bitcoin’s network hashrate. That level of share is part of broader scrutiny over mining concentration after the recent halving.

Wang has remained connected to F2Pool while investing in private space ventures and other businesses. In 2025 he financed and commanded Fram2, a private Crew Dragon mission that flew an all‑civilian crew over both of Earth’s poles. That flight followed sales of some of his bitcoin holdings to fund the trip and made him the first Maltese citizen to travel to space.

In a recorded message from Bouvet Island, Wang framed the Mars flight as preparation for future surface missions and described its purpose plainly: “So it’s going to be a flyby mission of Mars.” He said the mission should make the planet feel more reachable.

SpaceX characterizes the mission as a crewed flyby rather than a landing attempt. Details about the full crew, mission profile, launch vehicle stack and exact timing have not been released. The company has previously tied timelines for crewed interplanetary flights to the development and flight certification of the Starship system.

Wang’s selection follows a trend of private wealth funding commercial human space missions, including earlier private flights that used cryptocurrency proceeds. SpaceX and Wang provided no additional operational details or a launch date at the time of the announcement.