The Banking Executive Magazine- June 2026 Issue

The Next Empire Builders In strategic industries, such levels of concentration are exceptionally rare. More importantly, they create barri- ers that become increasingly difficult for competitors to overcome. The East India Company controlled trade routes. SpaceX increasingly controls access to orbit. The comparison is not perfect. But it is becoming harder to ignore. THE NEW FRONTIER HAS FEW RULES Throughout history, periods of rapid economic expansion have often out- paced governance. The great maritime age expanded faster than international maritime law. The internet expanded faster than digital regulation. Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than policymakers can estab- lish frameworks around it. Space presents a similar challenge. The foundations of modern space law were established during an era when governments possessed an ef- fective monopoly over space activity. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty sought to prevent territorial claims and en- sure that space remained accessible for the benefit of humanity. Yet it offered few practical answers regarding commercial competition, resource extraction, orbital conges- tion, or private-sector dominance. As commercial activity accelerates, these questions are becoming in- creasingly urgent. • Who owns resources extracted from the moon? • Who determines access to orbital corridors? • Who arbitrates disputes? • Who enforces decisions? Historically, governance vacuums tend to be filled by those with the greatest capability to operate within them. That reality is not unique to space. It has appeared repeatedly through- out economic history. BEYOND SPACEX: THE RISE OF CORPORATE SOVEREIGNTY This is where the discussion be- comes far more important than one company. The deeper trend is the emergence of corporations that increasingly per- form functions once associated with ISSUE 210 JUNE 2026 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 11