The U.S. military confirms operating Bitcoin nodes, with a four-star general calling it a "power projection tool."

Author: Thursday, Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, testified back-to-back this week before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, confirming that the command is operating a Bitcoin network node and conducting cybersecurity “field tests.”

He characterized Bitcoin as a “computer science tool” and a “means of power projection,” rather than a financial asset. This is the first time a U.S. military combatant command has publicly confirmed direct involvement in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network, and the Pentagon’s narrative on Bitcoin is shifting from “countering illicit finance” to “defense-grade technological assets.”

The U.S. military’s characterization of Bitcoin is undergoing a fundamental shift.

According to Bitcoin Magazine on April 22, Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), testified continuously before Congress’s House and Senate Armed Services Committees this week, confirming that the command is currently operating a full Bitcoin network node and conducting a series of military cybersecurity tests based on the Bitcoin protocol. Paparo is the highest-ranking officer of the largest of the six U.S. joint combatant commands, overseeing about 380,000 military personnel and responsible for covering the Indo-Pacific theater spanning half of the Earth’s surface.

In his testimony, Paparo explicitly defined Bitcoin as a “computer science tool” and a “means of power projection,” rather than a speculative financial asset. This marks the first time a senior U.S. military officer has publicly characterized Bitcoin in such a way in Congress, and the first known instance of a U.S. combatant command confirming direct participation in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network.

Senate Testimony: Bitcoin as a “Tool of National Power”

On April 21, at the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Paparo responded to a question from Senator Tommy Tuberville (Republican, Alabama) about Bitcoin’s strategic value.

Tuberville asked directly: Can America’s leadership in Bitcoin strengthen deterrence against China? Paparo did not dodge the question. He told the committee that INDOPACOM’s research focuses on the underlying computer science architecture of Bitcoin, including the integration of three key technical components: cryptography, blockchain, and proof-of-work.

Paparo said: “Bitcoin is a real, tangible thing. It is a peer-to-peer, zero-trust value-transfer system. Anything that supports the full suite of United States national power tools is beneficial.” He also added that, “Beyond its economic attributes, Bitcoin has very important computer science applications in cybersecurity.”

Paparo further elaborated on the military potential of the proof-of-work protocol. He pointed out that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism “imposes costs far beyond simple algorithmic network defense,” and that its applications can extend to offensive and defensive network operations.

In other words, what the Pentagon is interested in is not Bitcoin’s price trajectory, but it as a “computational security architecture that makes attacks cost physical resources.”

House Hearing Confirmation: “We Have a Node on the Bitcoin Network”

On April 22, Paparo, during further questioning by Representative Lance Gooden (Republican, Texas) at the House Armed Services Committee, disclosed more details.

According to an official press release and the verbatim hearing transcript released by Gooden’s office that day, Paparo clearly stated: “We are currently in an experimental phase. We now have a node on the Bitcoin network. We are not mining. We use it to monitor and conduct a series of operational tests, using the Bitcoin protocol to secure the network.”

During the hearing, Gooden also cited data from the Bitcoin Policy Institute, noting that China currently holds about 194,000 Bitcoin, while the U.S. holds approximately 328,000. He then asked Paparo:

In the digital competition era, should the U.S. maintain a leading position in Bitcoin holdings the way it maintains strategic resources like gold and oil?

Paparo responded that people are currently using Bitcoin to protect their digital assets—this is precisely the function enabled by the proof-of-work protocol combined with blockchain and cryptography. He also said he supports the GENIUS Act (the stablecoin legislative framework) for its positive role in maintaining the dollar’s global dominance, but in public he did not comment on “strategic Bitcoin reserves,” saying he would rather discuss it in depth in classified environments.

Pentagon Narrative Shift

A notable feature of Paparo’s testimony is that he “did not say much.” He did not describe Bitcoin as a reserve asset, a payment system, or a speculative tool; instead, he consistently positioned it as a computer science system with direct military relevance.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, prior public statements by the U.S. military about cryptocurrencies had almost all focused on combating illicit finance and sanctions enforcement. Paparo’s testimony marks a major turn in this narrative framework: for the first time, the protocol-layer architecture of Bitcoin has been characterized by the highest-ranking officer of a serving combatant command as a technology with national security value.

In a statement, Sam Lyman, Director of Research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, said Paparo’s testimony confirms that Bitcoin “has already become an undeniable geopolitical asset.”

As of early 2026, there are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 publicly accessible full nodes on the Bitcoin network; the actual number may be higher because many nodes operate behind firewalls. The inclusion of an INDOPACOM node means the U.S. military is no longer just an observer of the Bitcoin network, but a direct participant.