Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told lawmakers this week that the military is running a live Bitcoin node as part of cybersecurity testing, while increasingly framing the technology as a tool of national power in its strategic competition with China.

The four-star Navy admiral disclosed the initiative during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, a day after making similar remarks before the Senate, where he highlighted Bitcoin’s “incredible potential” for both national security and U.S. power projection.

Paparo’s comments mark the first public confirmation from an active U.S. combatant commander that the military is directly participating in the Bitcoin network.

“We currently have a node operating on the Bitcoin network,” Paparo said in response to questions from Representative Lance Gooden. “We’re not mining—we’re using it to observe network activity and conduct operational testing aimed at improving how we secure and defend systems using the protocol.”

A Bitcoin node is a computer that stores the full blockchain, validates transactions, and helps enforce the network’s rules by distributing verified data across its decentralized infrastructure. Unlike mining, running a node does not generate rewards and does not require specialized hardware.

Operating a node allows participants to independently verify the network’s state rather than relying on third parties. As of early 2026, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 publicly reachable full nodes, with the actual number likely higher due to privately run nodes behind firewalls.

While a single node has no material impact on Bitcoin’s decentralization, the involvement of a major U.S. military command is symbolically significant, given the network’s long-standing positioning as resistant to control by powerful institutions.

INDOPACOM oversees U.S. military operations across the Indo-Pacific, a region at the center of geopolitical tensions with China. Its engagement with Bitcoin highlights the growing intersection between decentralized technologies and global strategic rivalry.