Bitcoin, Pentagon's Cybersecurity Weapon? US Space Force Major Opens Debate

Major Jason Lowery of the US Space Force has just sent a passionate open letter to the Defense Innovation Board, an advisory body to the US Department of Defense, regarding Bitcoin. His goal: to convince the Pentagon to consider this cryptocurrency as a strategic national issue.

The US Space Force Major Urges the Pentagon to Take an Interest in Bitcoin

On December 3rd, Major Jason Lowery of the US Space Force sent an open letter to the Defense Innovation Board, an advisory body of the US Department of Defense (DOD). 

In his letter, Lowery explains that Bitcoin, much more than a digital currency, represents a major advancement in the field of cybersecurity. Indeed, its blockchain is based on proof-of-work, a protocol where miners have to solve complex calculations to validate transactions.

This requires massive amounts of electricity and thus integrates a physical constraint into the digital world. According to Major Lowery, Bitcoin thus becomes the world’s first “macro-processor,” using the global power grid to impose a real cost on cyberattacks.

A Revolution for American Defense

Major Lowery, a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, believes that this innovation fits perfectly into the logic of American defense strategies. Since the Cold War, the Pentagon has relied on technology to counter a numerically superior adversary, a concept known as “offset strategy”.

Bitcoin could form the “offset strategy” of the 21st century by providing the United States with a decisive advantage in cybersecurity. Therefore, Major Lowery calls on the Department of Defense to urgently study its military applications. Integrated into the American digital infrastructure, this revolutionary technology, he believes, could transform the global balance of power.

The letter concludes with a call to act quickly. The Pentagon may have already fallen too far behind in understanding the strategic potential of Bitcoin. For Major Lowery, it is crucial to catch up as quickly as possible before other powers seize the opportunity. The stakes are high for the United States: to secure their dominant position in the digital age.