WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Lance Gooden (TX-05) questioned U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, revealing that the U.S. military is using a Bitcoin node to secure and protect networks.
Congressman Gooden has been a champion for cryptocurrency and expanding its use cases. Gooden weighed in on the stablecoin debate in support of the crypto community and sent a letter urging the General Services Administration to consider installing cryptocurrency ATMs in federal government buildings. Additionally, he is working to craft a “crypto-forward” 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
Click here to watch the full exchange.
TRANSCRIPT:
Rep. Gooden: Admiral Paparo, yesterday you testified that Bitcoin held potential as a tool for national security. Recent research from the Bitcoin Policy Institute estimates China has approximately 194,000 Bitcoins, while the United States has approximately 328,000 Bitcoins. In this era of digital competition, would it be to our strategic advantage to maintain a lead in this regard as we do with other strategic resources like gold and oil?
Adm. Paparo: Sir, our interest in Bitcoin is as a tool of cryptography, a blockchain, and reusable proof of work as an additional tool to secure networks and project power. And so, I think this protocol is here to stay. I think the computer science of it has direct implications for the projection of power—not financial, but from a computer science standpoint—from the securing of networks. And so, I am supportive of those applications. All instruments of national power are important, but from the military application standpoint, my interest in Bitcoin is as a computer science tool as a projection of power.
Rep. Gooden: I appreciate that. I agree with you, and I’d also like to hear your thoughts on monetary competition over the coming decades. What role does Bitcoin play in spreading digital property rights?
Adm. Paparo: Well, you know, people use Bitcoin today, right now, to protect their own digital property, and that’s the reusable proof-of-work protocol that’s combined with blockchain for accountability and cryptography for security. And so, that’s the role that I see for it. I see direct national security implications, and then I’m supportive of anything that maintains our own dollar dominance worldwide.
Rep. Gooden: I appreciate that. Do you think we’re adequately prepared to counter China’s strategic direction regarding digital assets?
Adm. Paparo: I think that our recent act with the GENIUS Act is a great step forward that moves us in that direction.
Rep. Gooden: Lastly, I’ll ask you as we continue to craft the NDAA, what authorities and resources does INDOPACOM need to address in respect to the national security dimensions of digital assets?
Adm. Paparo: Presently, we’re in experimentation, so I’ll give you a deeper look into that. Presently, we have a node on the Bitcoin network right now. We’re not mining Bitcoin. We’re using it to monitor, and we’re doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol.
Rep. Gooden: I appreciate that, Admiral. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.