Admiral: Bitcoin’s proof-of-work helps U.S. security

Admiral Samuel Paparo testified on April 21 before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that Bitcoin is a “valuable computer science tool” and that its proof-of-work design increases the cost for anyone trying to compromise the network. He framed the protocol’s computing requirements as a factor that can aid U.S. national security by making tampering and network attacks more expensive.

The hearing focused on the strategic posture of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific and covered the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, China’s military expansion and cooperation with foreign adversaries, and threats from North Korea. In response to a question from Senator Tommy Tuberville about how the U.S. and Congress can lead on Bitcoin competition, Paparo did not provide a direct policy recommendation. He added,

Bitcoin is a reality. It is a peer-to-peer zero-trust transfer of value. Anything that supports all instruments of national power for the United States of America is to the good.

Paparo described proof-of-work as a cybersecurity feature, saying the mechanism “imposes more cost” on attackers and has “really important computer science applications for cybersecurity.” He placed the technology in a security context rather than discussing it only as a form of money.

The remarks follow a December 2023 statement by a U.S. Space Force strategist who argued that proof-of-work blockchains could secure data, messages and command signals, noting the protocol’s resistance to tampering and its decentralized validation process.

Officials and analysts have cited those technical properties as potential tools for protecting communications and critical systems amid growing cyber threats. State-linked and criminal actors increasingly use phishing, social engineering, ransomware and distributed denial-of-service attacks to disrupt infrastructure and extract value. North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been linked to large-scale cryptocurrency thefts over the past decade, with proceeds reportedly used to support the regime’s weapons programs.

On policy and industry matters, the United States currently holds the largest Bitcoin reserves among nation-states and controls a sizable share of global Bitcoin mining hashrate. U.S. mining operations depend in part on equipment manufactured abroad, a supply-chain concern officials say creates strategic risk. Last month, Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced the Mined in America Act, which aims to increase domestic production of Bitcoin mining hardware and to codify a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established by a previous executive order.

Paparo’s testimony linked technical features of Bitcoin to discussions about deterrence, resilience and the protection of command-and-control systems, presenting the protocol as a tool with potential applications in national defense conversations.