The American army uses a Bitcoin node for cybersecurity tests, confirms an admiral

The Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, stated before the Senate Armed Services Committee that his command is leveraging a Bitcoin (BTC) node and conducting operational tests with the protocol.

The hearing on April 21 marked the first time a serving American combat commander publicly presented Bitcoin as an asset for national security during a congressional procedure.

In response to questions from Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Paparo described Bitcoin as “a peer-to-peer value transfer, without prior trust,” and added that anything supporting the whole of national power is “for the good”.

He characterized the research being conducted as related to computer science, not monetary policy.

The proof-of-work, he specified, “has significant applications in computer science for cybersecurity,” especially for protecting data and increasing the real cost for adversaries conducting cyber operations.

“We currently have a node on the Bitcoin network. We are conducting a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol,” he declared.

The admiral offered to provide classified details on these tests if necessary.

Paparo’s remarks align with a growing American posture towards Bitcoin at the federal level. Legislators have advanced the BITCOIN Act and a Bitcoin strategic reserve through a decree.

Meanwhile, Major Jason Lowery’s thesis “Softwar” had previously suggested proof-of-work as a form of cyber power projection.

Tuberville steered the discussion towards competition with China, highlighting that Beijing’s main monetary think tank had released its own strategic research on Bitcoin.

INDOPACOM oversees approximately 380,000 personnel in the Indo-Pacific center, the primary front of strategic competition between the United States and China.

As of April 22, there has been no official follow-up from the Department of Defense to clarify the scope of these tests.

Read the original article “The US Military Uses a Bitcoin Node for Cybersecurity Tests, Confirms an Admiral” by Lockridge Okoth on fr.beincrypto.com.