Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this week that the military is actively running a Bitcoin node for cybersecurity testing. He described the protocol as a tool for American 'power projection' in competition with China — the first time a sitting US combatant commander has publicly confirmed military participation on the Bitcoin network.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees this week that the military is actively running a Bitcoin node for cybersecurity testing. He described the protocol as a tool for American 'power projection' in competition with China — the first time a sitting US combatant commander has publicly confirmed military participation on the Bitcoin network.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, the four-star Navy admiral who leads US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), disclosed to Congress this week that the US military is running a live node on the Bitcoin network.
Speaking before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday — and the Senate Armed Services Committee the day before — Paparo said the node is being used to 'monitor' network activity and conduct 'operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol.' He explicitly stated the military is not mining Bitcoin.
When pressed by Rep. Lance Gooden, Paparo confirmed: 'We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now.' On Tuesday, he had told the Senate panel that Bitcoin has 'incredible potential' as a tool for American 'power projection' and national security.
The US government's posture on Bitcoin has moved through distinct phases:
For context: INDOPACOM is not a research lab or policy shop. It's the unified combatant command responsible for 380,000 military personnel across 36 nations. When its commander tells Congress that Bitcoin is a tool for 'power projection' against China, that's a different league of institutional signal than a hedge fund adding BTC to its portfolio.
This disclosure flips the narrative. The US government went from treating Bitcoin as a regulatory problem to operating infrastructure on its network. The entity confirming participation is not a Treasury working group or a commerce subcommittee — it's the four-star admiral responsible for countering China in the Pacific.
Bitcoin has roughly 15,000-20,000 publicly reachable nodes. One more node doesn't change the network. But the symbolism of the US military voluntarily joining the network — and framing it as a strategic asset in great power competition — is a milestone that redefines how governments think about Bitcoin.
It also validates the thesis that Bitcoin's value proposition extends beyond financial speculation into national security infrastructure. If the US military views the Bitcoin protocol as worth monitoring and testing for operational purposes, the 'intrinsic value' debate shifts significantly.
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