A senior U.S. military commander has praised Bitcoin as a “valuable IT tool,” arguing that its utility goes beyond monetary uses and can support U.S. national security interests.
“It is a valuable IT tool for power projection” – Admiral Samuel Paparo he said at Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, adding that Bitcoin technology “imposes greater costs” on attackers trying to compromise networks:
“Beyond the economic formulation, it has really important IT applications for cybersecurity.”
The Senate hearing examined the strategic positioning of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region, including ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, China’s military expansion and coordination with foreign adversaries, and threats from North Korea.
Paparo’s remarks echo similar comments by U.S. Space Force member Jason Lowery in December 2023, who stated that Bitcoin and other proof-of-work blockchains could protect the U.S. from cyberwarfare.
He said then that while Bitcoin is primarily viewed as a “monetary system” for securing funds, few know that Bitcoin can be used to secure “any form of data, messages or command signals.”
“As a result, this misconception undermines the broad strategic importance of this technology for cybersecurity and, ultimately, national security.”
Research into the apply of Bitcoin as a cybersecurity tool comes after many adversaries – including state-linked actors – have turned to cyberattacks such as phishing, ransomware and distributed denial of service to sabotage infrastructure and secure economic benefits.
One of the most notable examples is the North Korean group Lazarus, which has stolen billions of dollars in crypto over the past decade to support its nuclear program.
Paparo’s comments came in response to a question from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who asked how the United States and Congress can lead the Bitcoin competition, noting that China’s top monetary think tank now views Bitcoin as a strategic asset.
Paparo did not directly address the question, but added: “Bitcoin is a reality. It is a peer-to-peer transfer of value with zero trust. Anything that supports all the instruments of national power of the United States of America is good.”
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The United States has the largest Bitcoin reserves among nation states and has the largest share of Bitcoin hashrate. However, it remains dependent on foreign-made mining equipment, raising national security concerns about threats in the supply chain.
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Last month, US Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced the Mined in America Act to address this problem by bringing more Bitcoin mining production back to the US.
It also aims to codify Trump’s executive order establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.
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