Overview
- Admiral Samuel Paparo told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that INDOPACOM operates a live Bitcoin node to run operational tests that secure and protect networks.
- A Bitcoin node stores the blockchain and verifies every transaction, which lets an operator see and validate network activity without mining new coins or controlling the protocol.
- Paparo framed Bitcoin as a computer science system built on cryptography, blockchain design, and proof-of-work that can raise the cost for attackers trying to disrupt networks.
- He said the effort is in an experimentation phase focused on monitoring and cybersecurity use cases, not on mining or building a government stash of coins.
- Lawmakers tied the work to U.S.–China competition and to policy moves such as the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the GENIUS Act, with Paparo saying legalized dollar-pegged stablecoins help reinforce U.S. dollar dominance.