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U.S. military runs Bitcoin node, sees crypto as power projection versus China
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, told two congressional panels this week that the military is running a live Bitcoin node for cybersecurity testing and views the protocol as a tool of national power in competition with China.
Apr 23, 2026, 11:52 a.m.
What to know:
- Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress the U.S. military is currently operating a live node on the Bitcoin network.
- Paparo said the node is not being used to mine Bitcoin but to monitor activity and run operational tests on securing and protecting networks using the Bitcoin protocol.
- The disclosure is notable because Bitcoin is designed to resist control by powerful governments, yet a U.S. combatant command is now directly participating in the peer-to-peer network.
The House comments were the first public confirmation by a sitting US combatant commander that the military is directly participating in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network.
“We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now,” Paparo said, responding to questions from Rep. Lance Gooden. “We’re not mining Bitcoin. We’re using it to monitor, and we’re doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol.”
A Bitcoin node is a computer that stores the full history of the blockchain and enforces the network’s rules, relaying validated transactions across the peer-to-peer network. Unlike mining, it does not earn rewards and does not require specialized hardware.
