Top U.S. Pacific Commander Calls Bitcoin a “Valuable Computer Science Tool” for National Power And Security

Bitcoin Magazine

Top U.S. Pacific Commander Calls Bitcoin a “Valuable Computer Science Tool” for National Power And Security

Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), informed the Senate Armed Companies Committee on Tuesday that Bitcoin represents a “helpful laptop science software as energy projection,” providing a uncommon and notable endorsement of the cryptocurrency from one of many nation’s most senior navy officers.

The feedback got here throughout a FY2027 protection authorization hearing on April 21, 2026, when Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) pressed Admiral Paparo on whether or not Bitcoin management offers america an edge in opposition to China within the Indo-Pacific theater.

“Bitcoin is a actuality,” Paparo informed the committee. “It’s a peer-to-peer, zero-trust switch of worth. Something that helps all devices of nationwide energy for america of America is to the great.” 

He added that INDOPACOM’s analysis into Bitcoin facilities on its underlying laptop science structure — the fusion of cryptography, blockchain, and proof-of-work protocols — and that these protocols “impose extra price than simply securing networks,” extending to offensive and defensive cyber operations.

“Bitcoin exhibits unimaginable potential as a pc science software,” Paparo mentioned. “It’s a helpful laptop science software as an influence projection,” he later mentioned. 

Bitcoin isn’t speculative 

The testimony is notable for its framing. Paparo didn’t describe BTC as a speculative asset or monetary instrument. He described it as a pc science system with direct cybersecurity purposes — an argument with precedent in protection circles. 

Area Pressure Main Jason Lowery, a nationwide protection fellow at MIT, has spent years arguing that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism can deter cyberattacks by imposing bodily, energy-based prices on adversaries, analogous to how typical navy belongings deter bodily aggression.

Tuberville’s line of questioning drew a direct line between BTC technique and great-power competitors. The Alabama senator famous that the Chinese language Communist Social gathering’s predominant financial assume tank revealed analysis final yr inspecting BTC as a strategic asset. 

China’s Worldwide Financial Institute circulated a report titled “The Case for Bitcoin as a Reserve Asset,” with commentary noting that BTC is shifting from a speculative instrument to a strategic reserve consideration — a sign that Beijing is watching U.S. strikes.

President Trump signed an govt order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 6, 2025, seeding it with BTC seized by way of legal and civil asset forfeiture. The White Home has directed that authorities BTC holdings not be bought, treating them as long-term reserve belongings — what crypto coverage advisor David Sacks called “a digital Fort Knox”. 

Tuberville co-sponsored the BITCOIN Act alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) in March 2025, which might go additional by directing the Treasury to accumulate a million BTC over time, mirroring the size of U.S. gold reserves.

Paparo didn’t supply particular legislative suggestions through the open session, saying he most popular to go on report in writing and dive deeper in a categorized setting.

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This publish Top U.S. Pacific Commander Calls Bitcoin a “Valuable Computer Science Tool” for National Power And Security first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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