U.S.-based space technology firm Spacecoin, which is developing a decentralised satellite-powered internet network, has joined forces with the Midnight Foundation to explore the creation of a secure, peer-to-peer messaging platform designed to function beyond conventional internet systems.
The partnership is examining how programmable cryptography and built-in privacy can be embedded into messaging services that do not depend on traditional infrastructure. The aim is to eliminate content monitoring and metadata harvesting, while reducing exposure to centralised networks that are vulnerable to surveillance, censorship, or outright shutdowns.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of recent government-imposed internet blackouts, including those seen in Uganda during the latest general election and in Iran, where near-total connectivity shutdowns accompanied a violent suppression of protests.
Although private messaging is the immediate focus, the combined satellite and blockchain infrastructure could be extended to other sensitive use cases. These include confidential financial transactions conducted over satellite links and secure healthcare communications in isolated or underserved regions.
“Working with Spacecoin gives us a chance to rethink privacy from the ground up, from cryptographic design all the way to connectivity,” said Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation. He noted that the organisation’s technology is built to support decentralised applications that resist censorship while remaining compliant with regulatory frameworks.
Beyond bypassing shutdowns, the collaboration also targets the expanding global surveillance landscape, where governments increasingly use regulatory pressure to obtain user data. This has left many centralised platforms caught between protecting privacy and retaining access to key markets. Even encrypted messaging services, critics note, often collect large volumes of metadata and comply with official data requests.
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“Messaging privacy is just the starting point,” said Spacecoin founder Tae Oh. “The underlying system we’re developing can secure financial exchanges and medical consultations just as effectively. The real value lies in treating privacy as core infrastructure, not a decorative add-on.”
Spacecoin’s blockchain protocol uses smart contracts to manage its satellite network, removing central points of control and making it difficult for any single authority to disrupt or compromise the system. Midnight complements this with zero-knowledge proofs that enable selective disclosure on-chain, allowing users to verify authorisation without revealing personal details such as identity, location, or communication patterns, while also shielding transactional metadata.
Together, these technologies could underpin a messaging platform that is fully end-to-end encrypted, free of server intermediaries, resistant to censorship at the infrastructure level, and capable of operating anywhere with satellite coverage, even when ground-based networks fail.
As part of its international expansion, Spacecoin has already received regulatory approval from Kenya’s Communications Authority to provide satellite-based IoT services.
