Ethereum surged above the $3,200 mark in early trading on Jan. 5, extending a recent rally as Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin said it will accept ETH for commercial spaceflight payments.
As signs grow that Ethereum is entering the mainstream, the question now looms on whether ETH’s price can continue rocketing higher.
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Blue Origin and Ethereum
Blue Origin, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, is now offering Ethereum payment for a seat aboard its rocket ship, according to Solid Intel.
The report comes after the firm announced it would accept Bitcoin (BTC) as payment in August, allowing them to get a seat on a New Shepard suborbital rocket.
Blue Origin now also covers Solana (SOL) and U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
The initiative was rolled out through a partnership with payments processor Shift4, allowing customers to pay directly from digital wallets such as Coinbase and MetaMask for future commercial flights.
In 2021, the company auctioned its first seat for $28 million, won by TRON founder Justin Sun.
While Blue Origin has not disclosed the full price of a ticket, a refundable deposit is understood to start at around $150,000.
Crypto and Space Collide
Web3 security firm OneSafe said Blue Origin’s move signals more than a simple expansion of payment options, framing it as a broader shift in how high-value industries may approach finance.
“This pivot to crypto payments by Blue Origin is more than an endorsement; it’s a bold statement about the future of aerospace finance,” OneSafe said, adding that by embracing digital currencies, the company is “opening the door for a wave of innovation.”
According to OneSafe, the decision by a major space tourism player to accept cryptocurrencies raises fresh questions about the asset class’ growing legitimacy.
“The acceptance of these assets by a major player in space tourism highlights cryptocurrency’s potential to revolutionize high-stakes transactions across multiple domains,” the firm said.
Beyond payments, OneSafe pointed to deeper implications at the intersection of space exploration and blockchain.
Blockchain’s transparency and security features could help address logistical and data-protection challenges in aerospace, from tracking spacecraft components to safeguarding mission-critical information, the firm said.
As digital assets gain traction in the sector, the firm said it expects “an influx of ingenuity aimed at redefining norms and fusing the financial and exploratory worlds in ways previously unimagined.”
Ethereum Extends Price Rally
Ethereum’s latest price gains come amid a broader improvement in sentiment toward the network.
At the time of publication, Ethereum is trading at around $3,144.
ETH has risen about 1.1% over the past 24 hours and is up more than 8% over the last seven days, according to market data.
Analysts point to several drivers behind the move.
Confidence has been buoyed by progress on Ethereum’s scaling roadmap following the Fusaka upgrade, which went live on mainnet in early December.
Institutional interest has also picked up, with roughly $161 million flowing into U.S.-listed Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this week,
At the same time, activity in derivatives markets has accelerated, with Ethereum derivatives trading volume jumping more than 50% to around $51 billion, while open interest edged higher.
Technical Picture Still Mixed on Ethereum Price
Despite the recent breakout, some analysts warn that Ethereum’s broader technical structure remains fragile.
“From a technical standpoint, Ethereum’s price remains trapped within a descending triangle on the daily chart, maintaining the broader structure’s tilt to the downside,” said Victor Olanrewaju, an analyst at CCN, in commentary published last week.
“The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) remains largely below the zero line, indicating that inflows have not yet surpassed outflows,” he said.
“This keeps ETH in a tight spot: momentum may be improving, but buyers have not reclaimed control.”
Olanrewaju warned that if sellers regain the upper hand, Ethereum could struggle to hold above $3,000 and drift lower toward the $2,621 area, which he identified as the next key downside level.
