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The U.S. Military Is Using Bitcoin… To Protect The Dollar? | Bitcoin Simply · Simply Bitcoin

• 0:00
  For years, people have called Bitcoin a speculative asset.
• 0:02
  But what if the Pentagon sees it is something much bigger?
• 0:05
  This week, 4 Star Commander Sam Paparo, the man overseeing the
• 0:09
  most strategically important naval fleet in the world,
• 0:12
  suggested that Bitcoin may not just matter as money, but as a
• 0:15
  national security asset. Our interest in Bitcoin is as a
• 0:19
  tool of cryptography, a blockchain and reusable proof of
• 0:23
  work, as an additional tool to secure networks and to project
• 0:28
  power. That wasn't even the most
• 0:29
  shocking thing he said. We have a node on the Bitcoin
• 0:33
  network. Right now we're doing a number
• 0:34
  of operational tests to to secure and protect networks
• 0:39
  using the Bitcoin. Even in those clips, he doesn't
• 0:42
  explain the real reason why the United States military is
• 0:45
  adopting Bitcoin. And this is where things get
• 0:48
  really interesting. And so I am.
• 0:51
  I think this protocol is here to stay.
• 0:53
  I think the computer science of it has direct implications for
• 0:58
  the projection of power. Today we're breaking down what
• 1:01
  Admiral Paparo says, the real reason that the United States
• 1:04
  military wants to adopt Bitcoin, why Jason Lowry may have been
• 1:08
  years ahead of the curve, and why Bitcoin may be evolving from
• 1:11
  a financial asset into an instrument of state power.
• 1:14
  This is Dante Coca Bitcoin. Simply, let's go.
• 1:21
  Admiral Papparo, yesterday you testified that Bitcoin held
• 1:25
  potential as a tool for national security.
• 1:28
  Recent research from the Bitcoin Policy Institute estimates China
• 1:32
  has approximately 194,000 bitcoins, while the United
• 1:36
  States has approximately 328,000 bitcoins.
• 1:40
  In this era of digital competition, would it be to our
• 1:44
  strategic advantage to maintain a lead in this regard as we do
• 1:47
  with other strategic resources like gold and oil?
• 1:50
  So our interest in Bitcoin is as a tool of cryptography, A
• 1:55
  blockchain and reusable proof of work, as an additional tool to
• 2:00
  secure networks and to project power.
• 2:03
  And so I am, I think this protocol is here to stay.
• 2:07
  I think the computer science of it has direct implications for
• 2:12
  the projection of power, not financial, but from a computer
• 2:17
  science standpoint, from the securing of networks.
• 2:20
  And so I am supportive of those applications.
• 2:24
  All instruments of national power are important.
• 2:26
  But from the military application standpoint, my
• 2:29
  interest in Bitcoin is as a computer science tool as
• 2:33
  projection of power. As we mentioned in the that's
• 2:35
  Admiral San Paparo. He's the commander of the Indo
• 2:38
  Pacific Fleet, one of the most strategically important naval
• 2:41
  fleets in the world. We're talking China, Taiwan, the
• 2:45
  South China Sea, Korea, global shipping lanes, semiconductors
• 2:49
  in the future of AI. So when Paparo talks about
• 2:52
  Bitcoin, this isn't some random government official talking
• 2:55
  about crypto. This is someone whose job it is
• 2:58
  to think about deterrence, power projection and how to protect
• 3:01
  American interests without losing lives.
• 3:03
  And this is directly connected to a special assistant, Jason
• 3:07
  Lowry, and his thesis that he lays out in Soft War.
• 3:10
  People used to call Lowry crazy, but now it's coming from the
• 3:13
  highest ranking officials. This is his thesis in a
• 3:16
  nutshell. For centuries, people have used
• 3:18
  human life and military power to protect land, real estate, oil,
• 3:23
  equities. But Bitcoin changes that.
• 3:25
  Instead of defending value, monetized wealth, he calls it
• 3:29
  with blood and force. Bitcoin allows value to be
• 3:32
  defended in cyberspace with energy, computation, and
• 3:35
  cryptography. Lowry puts it simply.
• 3:38
  Not having to waste human life to defend monetize wealth is
• 3:40
  worth everyone. But as important as power
• 3:43
  projection is, it's not the deepest reason why why Bitcoin
• 3:45
  is strategically important to the United States military.
• 3:48
  The real answer is simpler. I appreciate that I agree with
• 3:51
  you, and I'd also like to hear your thoughts on monetary
• 3:53
  competition over the coming decades.
• 3:56
  What role does Bitcoin play in spreading digital property
• 3:59
  rights? Well, I, I, you know, people use
• 4:02
  Bitcoin today, right now to protect their own intellectual
• 4:06
  property. And that's the reusable proof of
• 4:09
  work protocol that's combined with blockchain for
• 4:12
  accountability and cryptography for security.
• 4:16
  And so that's the role that I see for it.
• 4:19
  I see direct national security implications.
• 4:21
  And then I'm supportive for anything that maintains our own
• 4:26
  dollar dominance worldwide. This is about the dollar and
• 4:31
  protecting its sovereignty globally.
• 4:33
  And with the dollar declining in relevance, the United States is
• 4:36
  losing a strategic way to project its digital power on
• 4:39
  adversaries across the globe. This is why Scott Besson says
• 4:42
  it's so critical that we need to pass the Clarity Act and do it
• 4:45
  now. Can you talk about why it's so
• 4:47
  important that Congress pass digital asset legislation?
• 4:53
  Senator, when the United States leads in best practices, safety
• 4:58
  and soundness in the financial world, whether it's our banking
• 5:03
  system, the our securities or now digital assets, it's
• 5:08
  important for the US to lead for several reasons.
• 5:11
  One, US leadership over the long term secures the primacy of the
• 5:17
  dollar as the reserve currency. He gave three points as to why
• 5:20
  it's important for us to pass the Clarity Act.
• 5:22
  But point #1 the dollar sovereignty without a hard asset
• 5:26
  that can't be debased. Every Fiat system eventually
• 5:29
  runs into the same problem. More printing, more distortion,
• 5:32
  more instability. And as always, this leads to
• 5:35
  more conflict around the world. This is why the United States
• 5:38
  medals and other people's business in all places across
• 5:41
  the globe, because they used the dollar and the dollar system.
• 5:44
  So it is their business. And that's what makes this story
• 5:47
  so interesting, because the United States isn't the only
• 5:50
  country that's going to realize bitcoin's strategic importance.
• 5:53
  the US already projects power through the financial system.
• 5:56
  It does it through sanctions, banking, rails, asset freezes
• 6:00
  and access to the dollar itself. This is digital power projection
• 6:04
  and we're using it right now with Iran.
• 6:07
  Last month, the White House announced its maximum pressure
• 6:10
  campaign on Iran designed to collapse it's already buckling
• 6:15
  economy. The Iranian economy is in
• 6:18
  disarray. 35% official inflation has a initial inflation, a
• 6:26
  currency that has depreciated 60% in the last 12 months, and
• 6:30
  an ongoing energy crisis. I know a few things about
• 6:34
  currency devaluations and if I were an Iranian, I would get all
• 6:38
  of my money out of the rial. Now we will close off Iran's
• 6:43
  access to the international financial system by targeting
• 6:47
  regional parties that facilitate the transfer of its revenues.
• 6:52
  Our maximum pressure campaign designed to collapse Iranian oil
• 6:56
  exports. We are going to shut down Iran's
• 7:00
  oil sector. Remember when Russian assets
• 7:02
  were frozen at the beginning of the Ukraine war?
• 7:04
  This isn't just about finance. This is about geopolitical power
• 7:08
  being exercised through a monetary system.
• 7:10
  And in this world, Bitcoin becomes more and more important
• 7:14
  because Bitcoin is not just an investment.
• 7:16
  It's a way to protect against not only physical attack, but
• 7:19
  also digital attacks, which lead to financial exclusion if you're
• 7:24
  a weaker adversary. Michael Saylor says it best.
• 7:26
  Bitcoin is digital energy, but Bitcoin is also a digital
• 7:30
  defense system because when you have digital energy flowing
• 7:33
  across the network, you create commerce, as Michael Saylor
• 7:36
  says. The last and most important
• 7:37
  metaphor is when we have open digital energy flowing, it is a
• 7:42
  commerce network. But when we reverse that digital
• 7:45
  energy into a shield, it becomes a defense system.
• 7:48
  Coins, a digital defense system coin messages, authentications
• 7:52
  as action. They're unstoppable,
• 7:54
  corruptible, mutable. Noon to tampering by any known
• 7:58
  cyber threat. You can protect the United
• 8:01
  States commercial and military and financial systems behind a
• 8:07
  wall of digital energy. And and that's exactly how we
• 8:11
  will do it. Even Elon Musk pointed out the
• 8:14
  AI S don't know how to hack Bitcoin.
• 8:16
  They can spoof you out of your money.
• 8:18
  They can convince you that there's someone they're not.
• 8:20
  There's no way to trick an 800 XA hash digital wall that's
• 8:25
  based on modern encryption. The AI S won't get through that.
• 8:29
  Wall in one practical way that we allow you to create commerce
• 8:32
  through your Bitcoin is by borrowing against it.
• 8:35
  You can get cash from the value of the Bitcoin that you've
• 8:37
  stacked by using a partner like letting they allow you to unlock
• 8:41
  liquidity from your Bitcoin without any capital gains.
• 8:44
  Borrow against your Bitcoin stack.
• 8:46
  Have Fiat come into your account in less than six hours.
• 8:49
  This has no credit checks at rates that are half of what you
• 8:52
  could get with a credit card, and your Bitcoin isn't resold or
• 8:55
  rehypothecated in any way. You can see your Bitcoin in a
• 8:58
  wallet address in the platform. The application takes just two
• 9:02
  minutes. Go to learn dot leadin dot AO
• 9:04
  slash simply to get started. The other way that you can
• 9:06
  remove digital power projection from the current system is by
• 9:10
  becoming truly sovereign over your own assets.
• 9:13
  And that's by holding your own keys.
• 9:15
  That's by using the whole Bitcoin network for all that
• 9:18
  it's worth. Don't learn how to do this
• 9:19
  alone. Schedule a free 30 minute
• 9:21
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• 9:23
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• 9:26
  Dash Cook and a member of their team will help you and your
• 9:29
  family use Bitcoin to its fullest.
• 9:31
  Back to the show. What's wild that Jason Lawyer
• 9:34
  was laying out this thesis in 2024 and everybody called him a
• 9:37
  spook. They said he was part of the
• 9:38
  CIA. They said he was crazy.
• 9:39
  They said he was going to get Bitcoin dragged into a war that
• 9:43
  it couldn't compete against in the media narrative.
• 9:45
  But he always viewed that Bitcoin shouldn't be viewed as
• 9:48
  property, but as a means of protection.
• 9:50
  He even proposed that bit power should be used as a strategic
• 9:53
  KPI, suggesting that the United States create a hash force in
• 9:57
  order to help us find ways to unlock energy so that we can
• 10:00
  unleash the full power of the Bitcoin network on our
• 10:03
  adversaries in the event that we would be attacked digitally in
• 10:07
  cyberspace. Comparison of Bitcoin not as a
• 10:12
  property, but as a weapon system to establish and preserve
• 10:16
  permissionless control over underlying property.
• 10:20
  If you have permissionless control under underlying
• 10:23
  property, to your point, that sounds like you're now
• 10:26
  sovereign. You're now a group of people
• 10:30
  running code, so agreeing to a rule of law, funding paying fees
• 10:35
  to power projectors to defend your access.
• 10:38
  You're now creating an A, a new sovereign organization, a new
• 10:44
  sovereign group of people. So in my opinion, Bitcoin is not
• 10:50
  just property, it's the whole, it's the whole stack, it's the
• 10:54
  whole tech stack. It's the government, it's the
• 10:57
  military, and it's the money and the property.
• 10:59
  And the least impressive part in my opinion, is the money and the
• 11:04
  property. Because any Joe Schmo can build
• 11:08
  some shit coin, but to build a badass?
• 11:13
  Power projection. Military defense architecture
• 11:17
  over that to preserve permissionlessness and
• 11:20
  sovereignty over that property is the beautiful thing.
• 11:27
  This is where the game theory gets interesting.
• 11:29
  The properties that make Bitcoin strategically important to the
• 11:32
  United States also make it strategically important to
• 11:34
  everyone else. Because if the current financial
• 11:37
  system is weaponized, countries still need a way to transact.
• 11:40
  Commerce still has to happen in the world, still has to
• 11:42
  function. Countries can't settle things in
• 11:44
  gold. We've already learned that.
• 11:46
  And if they can't use the banking rails, well, then what
• 11:49
  can they use? This is why this clip from
• 11:51
  former U.S. military executive and leading commander Colonel
• 11:55
  Douglas McGregor in and his conversation with Natalie Brunel
• 11:58
  is so interesting, because he understands the geopolitical
• 12:01
  importance of needing to transact and have something
• 12:04
  readily available when you're cut out of the system.
• 12:07
  Listen to this conversation. Bitcoin can go from 10,000 to
• 12:12
  1,000,000 very, very quickly. Now, it's not going to be
• 12:16
  perfect. There will be speculation, there
• 12:18
  will be problems, it's a bumpy Rd.
• 12:20
  But I think ultimately it will prevail because you can also do
• 12:23
  business with it. I mean, right now, if you're in
• 12:26
  Moscow or Saint Petersburg, you can't use credit cards, you
• 12:33
  can't even use your currency. What do you do?
• 12:36
  You go to the bank, you open a bank account, and then you turn
• 12:40
  to Bitcoin. And that's how people are
• 12:42
  financing themselves over over in Russia right now that are
• 12:45
  from the West. That would be the ultimate chess
• 12:47
  move. As if the leaders of Russia or
• 12:50
  China all of a sudden said we're accumulating Bitcoin.
• 12:53
  I mean that would be wild in in game theory.
• 12:56
  And this leads to the real take away from this episode.
• 12:59
  Bitcoin wins no matter what. If the US government and
• 13:02
  military want to use Bitcoin to protect its dollar sovereignty,
• 13:05
  well then Bitcoin gets bit up and Bitcoin wins.
• 13:08
  If other nations want to use Bitcoin because the dollar
• 13:11
  system is being weaponized against them, well, Bitcoin wins
• 13:15
  in both scenarios. Bitcoin becomes more important
• 13:17
  on the global stage. In both scenarios, adoption
• 13:20
  accelerates. And when you have increasing
• 13:23
  adoption acceleration with a supply diminishing every single
• 13:27
  day as more Bitcoin is mined to the fixed cap of 21 million,
• 13:30
  well then you get an asset that is not only unable to be denied
• 13:34
  financially, but strategically. This is why the United States
• 13:38
  wants to lead. This is why it wants to go 1st.
• 13:41
  And This is why it makes sense to keep stacking any way that
• 13:44
  you can, not just by buying spot Bitcoin, but even through
• 13:47
  strategic ways like Bitcoin mining, increasing the amount of
• 13:51
  hash rate that is in the Bitcoin network or it's digital power
• 13:55
  projection on the world of Jason Lowry puts it.
• 13:57
  You can do that and be a part of this by working with a partner
• 14:00
  like SAS Mining. You give them your money, they
• 14:03
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  in, no need to negotiate energy contracts, just straight SAS to
• 14:12
  your wallet. Use the QR code and the
• 14:14
  information in the description to get started.
• 14:16
  And This is why you should subscribe to the show.
• 14:19
  We drop alpha in the real reason behind just the clips that you
• 14:22
  see online. We give you a different
• 14:24
  perspective, a different take, a different flavor, something that
• 14:27
  cuts deeper than the surface level.
• 14:29
  This is the signal, and this is Dante Cook with Bitcoin.
• 14:32
  Simply Happy stacking.