Spacecoin, the world’s first decentralized satellite internet network, has announced a partnership with the Midnight Foundation to explore the development of a private, peer-to-peer messaging application. The project aims to combine decentralized satellite infrastructure with zero-knowledge proof technology to create a communication system resistant to internet shutdowns and metadata surveillance.
The collaboration will investigate how programmable, cryptographic privacy can operate beyond traditional internet infrastructure. The goal is to eliminate reliance on centralized networks that can be monitored, censored, or shut down by state actors.
The initiative comes amid a rise in state-sponsored internet blackouts. Recent shutdowns in Uganda, which disrupted a general election, and in Iran, where connectivity was cut to mask violent crackdowns on protests, underscore the urgency of building infrastructure that protects both privacy and availability.
However, the partners argue that threats to privacy exist even when networks remain online. Authorities from the UK to Australia are increasingly demanding encryption backdoors, forcing centralized platforms to choose between user privacy and market access.
“Privacy is not a feature or a privilege — it is a fundamental human right. To protect this right, we need to think beyond the application layer. If the underlying infrastructure itself is exploitable, true privacy does not exist,” said Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation.
The partnership contends that even widely used encrypted services expose critical privacy gaps. WhatsApp, despite end-to-end content encryption, collects extensive metadata on over three billion users. Telegram is not encrypted by default, and Signal requires phone numbers, creating a link between real-world identity and usage patterns.
Midnight complements this by enabling selective disclosure through zero-knowledge proofs. This technology allows users to prove they are authorized to communicate without revealing their identity, location, or metadata—a layer of protection often missing in other privacy-focused blockchains.
“Midnight was designed to ensure people can verify and participate in digital systems without exposing who they are,” Syed added. “Partnering with Spacecoin allows us to explore what privacy looks like when it is protected end-to-end—from cryptography to connectivity.”
While the initial focus is on messaging, the partners view this as a foundation for broader applications, including private financial transactions, confidential healthcare communications in remote regions, and secure coordination for journalists.
“Private messaging solves one problem. But the infrastructure we’re exploring to build together solves many,” said Tae Oh, Founder of Spacecoin. “Once you can communicate privately over our satellite network, you can transact and access information privately. The real opportunity here is privacy as infrastructure, not as a feature.”
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Roshan Oozeer is the Head of Software Engineering at iOCO
