Why Pete Hegseth believes Bitcoin battles China and gives the US classified leverage
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the House Armed Services Committee on April 30 that the Pentagon is running classified Bitcoin programs on two operational tracks — enabling the technology and countering it — and that those efforts provide the United States leverage against China “in a lot of different scenarios.”
- Hegseth said “I am a long enthusiast of Bitcoin and crypto potential,” making him the first sitting Defense Secretary to confirm classified government Bitcoin programs in a national security context before Congress.
- INDOPACOM Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo separately confirmed earlier in April that US Indo-Pacific Command operates a live Bitcoin node and tests the protocol in operational settings, describing Bitcoin as able to impose real-world costs in cybersecurity environments.
- Russia controls approximately 16% of global Bitcoin mining hashrate, making it the second-largest mining hub globally, while China accounts for roughly 12% through underground and offshore operations despite its 2021 domestic ban.
Pete Hegseth made the remarks at an April 30 House Armed Services Committee hearing in response to questions from Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden about whether the US is securing a strategic advantage in Bitcoin. Crypto Integrated confirmed the confirmation of the classified effort, with Hegseth telling lawmakers: “I am a long enthusiast of Bitcoin and crypto potential. A lot of the things we are doing, enabling it or defeating it, are classified efforts that are ongoing inside our department, which do provide us a lot of leverage in a lot of different scenarios.” Gooden said Bitcoin has “evolved from a fringe asset into a matter of national security,” pointing to Iran’s Bitcoin toll at the Strait of Hormuz, North Korean ransomware activity, and China’s accumulation strategies.
As crypto.news reported, INDOPACOM Admiral Paparo confirmed in earlier Senate testimony that US Indo-Pacific Command is running a live Bitcoin node and conducting operational protocol tests, describing Bitcoin as a computer science system built on cryptography and proof-of-work with potential to impose costs in cybersecurity environments. The joint Hegseth-Paparo picture represents the most explicit public framing of Bitcoin as a defense instrument that the US government has produced. As crypto.news documented, Trump signed an executive order establishing a US strategic Bitcoin reserve earlier in 2026, seeded with approximately 200,000 government-held coins from forfeitures. As crypto.news tracked, Iran’s decision to demand Bitcoin for Strait of Hormuz transit directly linked the cryptocurrency to the active military conflict that has been Hegseth’s primary operational theatre throughout 2026. DL News noted that Russia now accounts for approximately 16% of global Bitcoin mining hashrate, while China retains roughly 12% through offshore operations, positioning Bitcoin mining geography as a direct strategic variable in the US-China competition Hegseth described.
