One ex-Goldman Sachs trader is hoping his trade takes off, quite literally.
Prolific trader Anton Kreil announced Tuesday he plans to break a new financial frontier by becoming the first person to make a financial trade in space, according to a press release from space tourism company Space Expedition Corporation who'll operate the flight (h/t The New York Times).
Kreil, who by age 26 rose to Vice President of European Equities at JPMorgan Chase, told London-based publication Square Mile Magazine that he's aiming to set the record for "First Financial Transaction in Space” and “Highest Recorded Financial Transaction” at 1 kilometer above sea level, the internationally recognized border with space.
If he accomplishes his goal, Kreil may be the first to make money in space, but he wouldn't be the first to make money off it. Space tourism is such a booming industry that it even has its own index, NewSpace Global, according to CNBC. Expected to be a $1 billion industry over the next 10 years, notable businessmen such as Virgin’s Richard Branson and PayPal’s Elon Musk are developing space tourism companies. Ashton Kutcher is currently the 500th scheduled passenger to one day ride on Branson’s Virgin Galactic after buying a ticket for $200,000 earlier this year.
Other investors are looking to make money off space in a different way: Asteroid mining. Billionaires including Google’s Larry Page, Microsoft's Charles Simonyi, and Ross Perot Jr. are initial investors in a project to mine asteroids for precious minerals and water, according to Huliq.
Still, whether Kreil accomplishes his goal remains up in the air. Venture capitalist Alan Walton recently asked for a refund for his space flight ticket once he became too old to travel to space after waiting for seven years.