US Government Runs a Bitcoin Node, But Not Mining BTC: US Admiral

A apical subject authoritative told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. authorities presently runs a node connected the Bitcoin network, to behaviour tests related to web security.

“We person a node connected the Bitcoin web close now,” Admiral Samuel Paparo, commandant of U.S. forces successful the Pacific, told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday.

“We’re not mining Bitcoin,” helium continued. “We’re utilizing it to monitor, and we’re doing a fig of operational tests to unafraid and support networks utilizing the Bitcoin protocol.”

The Bitcoin blockchain relies connected tens of thousands of nodes situated astir the world, which assistance unafraid and support the network. The node web is intentionally decentralized, meaning nary 1 enactment has power implicit Bitcoin and its transaction validation process. That’s a cardinal innovation—one that made the cryptocurrency truthful unsocial erstwhile it archetypal debuted successful 2009.

If the U.S. authorities runs lone 1 of the thousands of nodes that support Bitcoin up and running, that engagement poses nary menace to the network’s independence. But America’s cognition of a node whitethorn nevertheless rise eyebrows, considering Bitcoin’s “censorship resistance” has agelong been framed arsenic a defence against takeover attempts by almighty federation states.

Admiral Paparo said Wednesday that the U.S. authorities is presently successful an “experimentation” signifier erstwhile it comes to Bitcoin. But helium besides emphasized that the American subject views Bitcoin arsenic a highly invaluable technological tool—moreso than arsenic a fiscal plus worthy stockpiling.

“Our involvement successful Bitcoin is arsenic a instrumentality of cryptography, a blockchain, and a reusable proof-of-work—as an further instrumentality to unafraid networks, and to task power,” helium said.

“From the subject exertion standpoint, my involvement successful Bitcoin is arsenic a machine subject tool,” helium added.

Paparo did aboriginal mention, though, that supporting hegemony of the U.S. dollar worldwide is successful the American military’s champion interest. And helium noted that the GENIUS Act, a instrumentality signed past summertime by President Donald Trump legalizing the issuance of stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the worth of the dollar—“is a large measurement guardant that moves america successful that direction.”