Hegseth recasts Bitcoin as national security asset amid Russia, China expansion

Bitcoin just got a war upgrade.

On Thursday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told Congress that Bitcoin projects inside the Pentagon are “classified and ongoing,” while stressing that the top crypto is a tool for American power.

Hegseth delivered the comments in front of the House Armed Services Committee, responding to questions about whether the US is securing a strategic advantage in technology.

“I am a long enthusiast of Bitcoin and crypto potential,” he said. “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.”

Hegseth’s endorsement elevates Bitcoin into the realm of geopolitical strategy at a time when Russia and China are expanding their roles in mining and using digital assets to bypass US sanctions....