Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said this week that the military is operating a live Bitcoin node as part of cybersecurity research, while also viewing the protocol as a potential instrument of national power amid strategic competition with China.
The four-star Navy admiral revealed the effort during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, after telling the Senate a day earlier that Bitcoin holds “incredible potential” for both national security applications and U.S. power projection.
His remarks mark the first known instance of an active U.S. combatant commander publicly confirming that the military is directly participating in the Bitcoin network.
“We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now,” Paparo said when questioned by Representative Lance Gooden. “We’re not mining. Instead, we’re using it to monitor activity and run operational tests focused on strengthening and protecting networks through the protocol.”
A Bitcoin node is a system that maintains a full copy of the blockchain, verifies transactions, and helps enforce the network’s rules by relaying data across its decentralized infrastructure. Unlike mining, operating a node does not generate rewards and requires no specialized hardware.
Running a node allows participants to independently verify the state of the network without relying on intermediaries. As of early 2026, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 publicly accessible full nodes, with the total likely higher due to privately operated nodes behind firewalls.
While a single node has no meaningful impact on Bitcoin’s decentralization, the involvement of a major U.S. military command is symbolically significant, given Bitcoin’s reputation as a system designed to resist control by powerful institutions.
INDOPACOM oversees U.S. military operations across the Indo-Pacific, a region central to geopolitical tensions with China. Its participation in the Bitcoin network underscores the growing overlap between decentralized technologies and global strategic competition.
