Pentagon: Bitcoin is now a tool of U.S. strategic leverage
In a clear signal that parts of the U.S. defense establishment now treat Bitcoin as more than a financial network, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that BTC can be used as a tool of American strategic leverage — and that classified Pentagon efforts are already underway in that space.
The exchange took place during an April 30 hearing, when Rep. Lance Gooden pressed Hegseth on whether Bitcoin should be regarded as an instrument of power projection. Gooden argued the asset has shifted from fringe to strategic concern, pointing to adversarial uses: “Iran has demanded Bitcoin as a toll for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. North Korean cyber actors have leveraged it in ransomware campaigns, and China is believed to be stockpiling substantial holdings as part of a strategic reserve.”
Gooden tied those risks to the Indo-Pacific theater, citing Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, who has said Bitcoin has “direct implications for power projection.” Paparo has also testified that USINDOPACOM is operating a Bitcoin node as part of its mission — a move he described as helping to “secure and protect networks.”
Hegseth’s response was short but emphatic. “I guess my short answer would be yes and yes,” he said, adding that he’s long been “an enthusiast of Bitcoin and crypto potential.” Crucially, he framed the department’s posture as twofold: “enabling it or defeating it,” with many related activities classified and ongoing — efforts the secretary said provide the U.S. “a lot of leverage in a lot of different scenarios.”
That dual-track approach — using blockchain capabilities where they create advantage and countering adversarial use where necessary — builds on Paparo’s April 21 Senate testimony that Bitcoin can support U.S. “power projection” and broader instruments of national power. Details remain scant because much of the work is sensitive, but the public comments mark one of the clearest acknowledgments yet that the Pentagon views Bitcoin as a national security domain.
Market snapshot: BTC was trading around $77,168 at press time.
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