U.S. Navy admiral: Bitcoin has become a tool for America’s “power projection,” and cyber security should have major scientific significance

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo said Tuesday, during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, that Bitcoin, as a means of power projection, is “a highly valuable computer science tool,” and that its proof-of-work (PoW) technology “imposes higher costs on attackers seeking to infiltrate networks,” adding that its cybersecurity applications have “very important” computer science significance.

Paparo’s specific remarks at the hearing

(Source: U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee)

According to the publicly available hearing transcript of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Paparo said, “Leaving aside its economic significance, it has very important computer science applications in the field of cybersecurity.” He also said, “Bitcoin is real. It’s a point-to-point value transfer method with zero trust. Anything that helps U.S. national power is a good thing.”

The above remarks were Paparo’s response to a question from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville; Tuberville asked how the United States and Congress can take the lead in the competition for Bitcoin, and noted that China’s top think tank on money has now regarded Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

U.S. Bitcoin legislative developments

According to publicly available information, the United States currently has the largest Bitcoin reserves among all countries and also holds the largest share of Bitcoin computing power, but it still relies on mining equipment manufactured abroad, creating supply-chain security risks. Last month, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced the “U.S. Mining Act,” aiming to bring more Bitcoin mining manufacturing back to the United States to address supply-chain problems, while also seeking to codify President Trump’s executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Related historical statement: U.S. Space Force Jason Lowery, 2023 commentary

According to publicly available information, Paparo’s remarks align with a December 2023 comment by Jason Lowery, a member of the U.S. Space Force. At the time, Lowery said that Bitcoin and other proof-of-work blockchain networks could be used to protect “all forms of data, message, or command signal,” and said that underestimating this technology “underestimates its broad strategic significance for cybersecurity and even national security.”

Frequently asked questions

At what occasion did Paparo make his Bitcoin statement?

According to the publicly available hearing record, on Tuesday Paparo made remarks regarding Bitcoin’s cybersecurity applications at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. The hearing backdrop was a review of the United States’ strategic posture in the Indo-Pacific region, and his comments were in response to a question from Senator Tommy Tuberville.

How did Paparo describe the cybersecurity value of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work technology?

According to the hearing record, Paparo said that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work “brings higher costs to attackers trying to infiltrate networks,” and called it “very important computer science applications in the field of cybersecurity,” while adding that “leaving aside its economic significance.”

What Bitcoin-related legislation did the U.S. Senate recently propose?

According to publicly available information, Senators Cassidy and Lummis introduced the “U.S. Mining Act” last month (March 2026), aiming to bring more Bitcoin mining manufacturing back to the United States to address supply-chain security problems, and also seeking to codify President Trump’s executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.