The United States military has an active node on the Bitcoin network, according to Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM). Disclosure, held at the House of Works committee hearing, is the first clear sign that the US military is directly participating in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network.
“We have information on the Bitcoin network,” Paparo wrote. “We are conducting several tests to secure and protect the network using the Bitcoin protocol.”
The statement came a day after Paparo made waves in Congress with evidence that established Bitcoin as an American power tool.
What Paparo said yesterday
On April 21, Paparo he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee during the FY2027 authorization process. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) asked Paparo if US leadership in Bitcoin could give the country an edge against China in the Indo-Pacific Theater.
Paparo did not deviate. He told the committee that INDOPACOM research site on Bitcoin as a computer science tool – not as a financial asset.
“Our Bitcoin research is a computer science tool,” Paparo said. “It’s a combination of cryptography, blockchain, and proof of work. And Bitcoin shows amazing potential as a computer science tool that through proof of work, it brings more money than just access to networks and our ability to work.”
He explained that Bitcoin is a “peer-to-peer, transfer of value” and said “anything that supports all the power structures of the United States of America is good.”
The evidence was based on what the Pope did not say. He did not describe Bitcoin as a storage asset, a payment method, or a speculative instrument. He positioned it as a computer science system that is directly related to the military – a distinction that sets his voice apart from most government commentaries on crypto.
What running a Bitcoin node means
A Bitcoin point is a computer that runs the Bitcoin software, keeps a complete copy of the blockchain, and independently verifies each transaction and blocks against the network’s consensus rules. Nodes do not contain Bitcoin. They establish protocol rules and send data over a peer-to-peer network.
Running a node gives the user direct, trustless access to the Bitcoin network without relying on any third party. The user’s computer communicates with other nodes around the world, verifies incoming transactions and blocks, and rejects anything that violates the rules of the Bitcoin protocol.
For INDOPACOM, the use of nodes puts the law as the first step in the Bitcoin network, not the observer.
The revelation that the military is conducting “functional tests to protect and defend networks using the Bitcoin protocol” shows that the command is moving beyond theoretical research and active experimentation with Bitcoin architecture as a defensive tool.
By the beginning of 2026, there are about 15,000 to 20,000 publicly accessible Bitcoin networks, although the actual number is higher because many nodes work behind firewalls and are not visible to the public.
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