Space Invaders Clone Rewards $7.30 for Shooting 10,000 BTC
A pseudonymous developer launched a Space Invaders clone where players can earn Bitcoin rewards by destroying simulated transactions floating across the screen, but the game's economics reveal a satirical take on mempool dynamics.
Key Takeaway
Only billionaire Bitcoin holders can claim the full bounty—everyone else pays to play.
Pseudonymous developer Jasonb created Mempool Space Invaders, a game that pays players 10,000 sats—worth $7.30—for destroying a 10,000 BTC transaction as it floats across the screen.
The catch? You need access to 10,000 BTC to create the target transaction yourself. That's ₱43.76 billion ($730 million) worth of Bitcoin at the current price of ₱4,387,472 ($73,198). Jasonb explained the strategy on Stacker News: throw up a 10,000 Bitcoin transaction to yourself and wait for it to show up, then blast it out of the water. Just make sure not to spend too much in fees, or you'll eat up all your winnings.
Players without access to billions can keep shooting for 1,000 sats per continue—about $0.73. Comments on the game's page show some players found workarounds. One claimed to have destroyed 70 BTC worth of transactions, while another reported blasting through 30 BTC in just 20 minutes.
Jasonb suggested an alternative approach for those worried about network congestion: use two 5,000 Bitcoin transactions instead, making sure they are broadcast close enough together to shoot both in the same game. When asked about players faking screenshots to claim the bounty, Jasonb took a relaxed stance—if they put in the effort to fake that, the sats reward is deserved.
Bitcoin traded at ₱4,387,472 ($73,198) at the time of writing, up 1.3% in 24 hours and 9.5% over the past week.
This article was written based on reporting from Decrypt.
