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.

As rival powers lean on crypto to settle energy trades and reduce dependence on the dollar amid geopolitical turmoil, Washington’s embrace signals that Bitcoin is now part of the global balance-of-power conversation.

Still, Bitcoin’s price has not budged. The top crypto is down some 40% from its October peak of $126,000 even as the S&P 500 and other asset classes blaze record highs amid investor optimism.

Hegseth himself has long been a backer of digital assets. In 2025, his financial filings showed that he was holding Bitcoin.

Last week, Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr., head of US Indo-Pacific Command, confirmed that the…