US Space Force Officer Says Bitcoin Has ‘National Strategic Importance’

Jason Leary, a member of the United States Space Force, said the United States should conduct regular inspections using proof-of-work networks such as Bitcoin (BTC) to protect the nation from cyberattacks.

In a four-page letter to the U.S. Defense Innovation Board on Dec. 2, Bitcoin is viewed as a “financial system” for securing funds, but few say Bitcoin “is capable of storing all forms of information, messages, or command signals.”

“Consequently, this misperception underscores the technology's broader strategic importance to cybersecurity and, by extension, national security.”

The Defense Innovation Board is an independent advisory board dedicated to bringing Silicon Valley technology innovation and best practices to the US military. Lowery used the letter to urge the board to advise the Defense Secretary to examine the “national strategic importance” of PoW systems like Bitcoin.

Lowery used the letter to urge the board to advise the Defense Secretary to examine the “national strategic importance” of PoW systems like Bitcoin.

In the letter, he explained that a proof-of-work system like Bitcoin can protect adversaries from cyber attacks due to the “high cost” of computing that requires physical resources, in the same way that military assets can help protect against military attacks. Country.

“Proof of work mirrors the physical security and defense mechanisms used in other domains such as land, sea, air and space,” but instead places it in the digital domain, Lowery explained.

BREAKING: US Space Force Major, Jason Lowery sends open letter to DOD's Defense Innovation Board about #Bitcoin.

I argue that reusable proof-of-work networks like #Bitcoin represent a compensation strategy for the 21st century. pic.twitter.com/qiLZ71S5MN

— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) December 3, 2023

According to Lowery, Bitcoin's cybersecurity applications are huge and could play a major role in the US maintaining its position as a world leader.

“Resolving this may be critical for the US to maintain its position as a global superpower and leader among nations, especially in a digital and interconnected world plagued by security vulnerabilities.”

Lowery says it has the potential to start a “cyber security revolution.”

“[It is] The beginning of the cyber security revolution. It turns the global electrical power grid into a large, physically expensive computer, or ‘macrochip', and uses it to physically restrict malicious actors and protect various types of data and messages traversing the Internet.

Lowery concluded that Bitcoin's cybersecurity application is “absolutely with strategic offsets” and that the US Department of Defense previously “could have lost valuable time” in the military.

Lowery, a national defense fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), previously proposed a cybersecurity tool on the Bitcoin base layer in March, which he said could transform the nation's national security.

Bitcoin is the “best defender” of US interests: Coinbase CEO

Meanwhile, in a separate thread on X, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies could play a critical role in helping the United States maintain its dominance over the dollar.

“One idea I've been mulling over is that bitcoin could be the key to extending Western civilization,” Armstrong said in a Dec. 3 post, noting that cryptocurrencies could work alongside the U.S. dollar instead of dethroning it.

“I think it will be a natural check and balance that complements the dollar and protects long-term American interests,” Armstrong added.

One idea I've been mulling over is that Bitcoin could be the key to extending Western civilization.

The natural tendency of any country with a reserve currency is to increase the money supply and increase spending until it loses its usefulness. The United States in…

— Brian Armstrong ️ (@brian_armstrong) December 3, 2023

World leaders explained that they would fail to maintain a reserve currency by increasing the value of the money supply and increasing the deficit.

Armstrong stressed that “America is on this journey” but that the Chinese yuan and the euro have their own issues and are not viable options at the moment.

Related: US Senate Passes National Defense Bill Targeting Crypto Mixers

Instead, cryptocurrencies have the potential to become an alternative currency in the event of a US dollar collapse.

“What I think a lot of people don't think about is that people now have an option in crypto. They may start moving fiat to crypto to hedge against inflation.

Armstrong argued that if the US dollar loses its dominance, it is better to switch from the fiat currency of another country to a fiat currency.

He added that the emergence of US dollar-backed stablecoins such as the USD Coin (USDC) and cryptocurrencies “will play an important role in uniting these worlds.”

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