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U.S. INDOPACOM Confirms Bitcoin Full Node Use in Cybersecurity Tests

U.S. INDOPACOM Confirms Bitcoin Full Node Use in Cybersecurity Tests

Admiral Samuel Paparo told congressional hearings on April 21 and 22 that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is operating a Bitcoin full node and using the Bitcoin protocol in cybersecurity testing, linking Bitcoin infrastructure to national security.

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Fact Check
The claim is likely true based chiefly on the official House source, "Press Releases" at gooden.house.gov, which explicitly says that on April 22, 2026 Admiral Samuel Paparo confirmed the U.S. military operates a Bitcoin node for network security and discussed Bitcoin's cryptography, blockchain, and proof-of-work as useful for securing networks and projecting power. That directly supports the core statement that INDOPACOM is operating a Bitcoin node and using the protocol in cybersecurity-related testing. Secondary reports from BlockBeats and CryptoSlate are consistent with the official account and add that the remarks were made across April 21 and 22 hearings. However, because the Senate and committee transcript pages could not be fetched in this run, there is still some uncertainty around the exact wording such as "full node" and the precise phrase "cybersecurity tests."
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Summary

Admiral Samuel Paparo said during congressional hearings on April 21 and 22 that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is operating a Bitcoin full node and using the Bitcoin protocol in cybersecurity tests. This provides the specific identity and institutional context behind earlier reporting that a former U.S. admiral who had criticized crypto was now running a Bitcoin node and tying it to U.S. national security. A Bitcoin full node independently verifies transactions and blocks, making it central to Bitcoin’s security model, decentralization, and network resilience. During the hearings, lawmakers also cited national Bitcoin holdings of 328,000 BTC for the United States and 194,000 BTC for China.

Terms & Concepts
  • Bitcoin full node: Software that independently validates Bitcoin transactions and blocks, helping enforce the network’s rules without relying on third parties.
  • Bitcoin protocol: The core set of network rules that governs how Bitcoin transactions are created, verified, and recorded on the blockchain.
  • Cybersecurity testing: Controlled technical assessments used to evaluate system resilience, security behavior, and potential vulnerabilities.