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Ahmed Barakat
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The US government is running the Bitcoin system right now, confirmed under oath already Congressand marks the first disclosure of a US military unit directly involved in the Bitcoin network infrastructure.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, confirmed Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee hearing the FY2027 defense request.
The big question it raises isn’t whether the government is collecting Bitcoin, of course, but whether actors are quietly inserting themselves into the protocol’s infrastructure for reasons that go beyond money.
- Source: Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
- Confirmed: The US government is currently operating 1 node on the Bitcoin network for cybersecurity testing and cyber security research.
- Banned: The government is not mining Bitcoin – Paparo made this clear.
- Story: INDOPACOM is in an active “experimental” phase, using a protocol to prove the use of Bitcoin as a computer science and cryptographic tool, not an economy.
- View item: Details of INDOPACOM’s Bitcoin research programs remain sparse; Follow the FY2027 NDAA arguments to find additional funding for blockchain cybersecurity initiatives.
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What Runs the Bitcoin Node Actually Signs About the US Government
Running nodes is not mining, and it is not working. A Bitcoin node verifies transactions and blocks, stores a complete copy of the blockchain, and participates in the peer network, but does not generate BTC and does not require hash power.
The Bitcoin network currently relies on tens of thousands of distributed networks around the world, and a single state-controlled network does not affect consensus.
What it provides is trustless, with direct access to network data, without an intermediary exchange, third-party feed, or reliance on third parties.
For military command to monitor enemy activity or stress testing efforts against adversary threats, such opportunities without recourse Bitcoin’s native architecture they have a working logic. This is a monitoring and investigation, not an audit site.
One government out of thousands is not vulnerable to Bitcoin fragmentation or resistance.
But the optics carry the weight; a system clearly constructed as a defense against the state now has a state actor living within it.
What the Admiral Convinced – and What Remains Unanswered
Paparo was ambiguous on the main points. “We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now,” he told the committee. “We are not mining Bitcoin. We are using monitoring, and we are doing several tests to secure and protect the network using the Bitcoin protocol.”
He placed the military’s interest clearly as technical, not economic. “Our interest in Bitcoin is a tool for cryptography, blockchain, and repeatable proof of work, as an additional tool for network security, and for power generation,” said Paparo.
“In terms of my potential military use, my interest in Bitcoin is as a computer science tool.” He also said that some of the real INDOPACOM’s Bitcoin research programs remain in the group, leaving a large number of tasks unanswered.
Paparo also announced his support for stablecoin laws as compatible with military interests, calling the GENIUS law, signed by President Donald Trump last summer, to approve the issuance of stablecoins with the dollar, a “big step” to demonstrate the dominance of the US dollar in the world.
This installation positions the dollar-denominated digital economy as a tool to visualize economic power, separate from but compatible with the function of the Bitcoin protocol.
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