US Military confirms it is "running a Bitcoin node"! Indo-Pacific Command Admiral: Leveraging PoW mechanism to strengthen cyber warfare defense

Has Bitcoin officially become a US national security weapon? Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command—the largest geographic combatant command of the US military—confirmed at a Senate hearing on the 21st that the US military is currently "running a Bitcoin node" for cybersecurity testing. He highly praised the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism as a valuable tool for "power projection" and increasing the cost of cyberattacks. (Previous coverage: Iranian state media signals potential lifting of US maritime blockade; precious metals and Bitcoin surge as war may head toward a real ceasefire) (Background: US Indo-Pacific Command four-star Admiral: Bitcoin is a "power projection" tool that aligns with US interests) The strategic positioning of Bitcoin is officially crossing over from a Wall Street financial asset to the front lines of the Pentagon's national defense. On April 21, 2026 (US time), Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, attended a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In response to Senator Tommy Tuberville's inquiry regarding "the role of Bitcoin in US-China geopolitical competition," he gave an answer that shocked both the cryptocurrency community and the national security circle. Bombshell: The US military is running a Bitcoin node itself Admiral Paparo publicly confirmed for the first time at the hearing the US military's direct involvement in the Bitcoin network: "We have a node on the Bitcoin network... We're doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol." He described Bitcoin as "a reality" and highly affirmed its unique attributes as a "peer-to-peer, zero-trust value transfer system." Unlike most financial institutions that focus on price fluctuations, the US military is interested in the underlying cryptography and blockchain technology of Bitcoin. Paparo pointed out that the core of Bitcoin—the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism—is an "extremely valuable computer science tool." He believes that PoW can not only be used for "power projection," but also serve as a cybersecurity defense mechanism by significantly increasing the costs for attackers, and can be widely extended to offensive and defensive cyber operations in the future. JUST IN: 🇺🇸 US Admiral Paparo says the United States is running a Bitcoin node. "We have a node on the Bitcoin network…We're doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol." pic.twitter.com/2nGHgbxHUM — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 22, 2026 Why does the US military need to run a node? Intelligence gathering and great power competition Why does the US military need to run a full Bitcoin node itself? National security experts and on-chain analysts point out that this is more like a part of the US intelligence and defense infrastructure layout, carrying profound strategic significance: - Front-line intelligence gathering: Running a full Bitcoin node allows the US military to directly monitor network traffic, analyze the mempool, and observe transaction patterns. This is crucial for tracking how adversaries use cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions or investigating the flow of funds from ransomware. - A "cost-imposition" mechanism for cyber warfare: Paparo's view strongly echoes the "Softwar" theory previously proposed by US Space Force Major Jason Lowery, which utilizes the characteristic of PoW consuming large amounts of physical energy as a physical defense mechanism against cyber threats. - A new battlefield for great power competition: As the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command responsible for competition with China, Paparo included Bitcoin in the category of "instruments of national power," implying that the US is seriously studying how to seize dominance in decentralized networks in future technological warfare. This statement at the hearing is seen by the outside world as the "first time" that high-level US military officials have publicly defined Bitcoin as a strategic asset highly relevant to national security in the halls of Congress. This not only overturns the past stereotype of the government viewing cryptocurrency merely as a tool for money laundering, but also signifies that Bitcoin has been officially incorporated into the US military strategic blueprint for addressing geopolitical conflicts.