The United States needs to formally investigate using proof-of-work networks such as Bitcoin (BTC) to protect the country from cyber-inflicted warfare, according to Jason Lowery, a member of the United States Space Force.
In a four-page letter to the U.S. Defense Innovation Board on Dec. 2, Lowery explained that while Bitcoin is mostly seen as a “monetary system” to secure funds, few know that Bitcoin can be used to secure “all forms of data, messages or command signals.”
“As a result, this misconception underplays the technology’s broad strategic significance for cybersecurity, and consequently, national security.”
The Defense Innovation Board is an independent advisory board set up to bring the technological innovation and best practices of Silicon Valley to the U.S. Military. Lowery used the letter to urge the board to advise the Secretary of Defense to investigate the “national strategic importance” of PoW systems like Bitcoin.
Lowery used the letter to urge the board to advise the Secretary of Defense to investigate the “national strategic importance” of PoW systems like Bitcoin.
In his letter, Lowery explained that a proof-of-work system like Bitcoin could work to deter adversaries from cyberattacks due to the “steep costs” of a physically resource-intensive computer in the same way military assets help to deter military attacks against the country.
“Proof-of-work mirrors the physical security and deterrence strategies utilized in other domains like land, sea, air, and space,” but instead, it does it in the digital domain, Lowery explained.
BREAKING: US Space Force Major, Jason Lowery sends open letter about #Bitcoin to DOD’s Defense Innovation Board.
“I contend that reusable proof-of-work networks like #Bitcoin represent an offset strategy for the 21st century.” pic.twitter.com/qiLZ71S5MN
— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) December 3, 2023
Bitcoin’s potential cybersecurity applications are huge, according to Lowery, and could play an important role in the U.S. maintaining its position as the world leader.
“Addressing this could be vital for the US to maintain its positions as a global superpower and leader among nations, especially in an increasingly digital and interconnected world plagued by security vulnerabilities.”
Lowery says it has the potential to kickstart the “cybersecurity revolution” too.
“[It is] the beginning of a cybersecurity revolution. It converts the global electric power grid into a large, physically costly computer, or ‘macrochip,’ and uses it to physically constrain malicious actors and safeguard a wide range of data and messages traversing the internet.”
Lowery concluded Bitcoin’s cybersecurity application aligns “perfectly with a strategic offset” and that the U.S. Department of Defense may have already “lost valuable time” by not implementing it into its arsenal.
Lowery is also a national defense fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and previously proposed a cybersecurity tool on the Bitcoin base layer in March, which he claims is capable of transforming the country’s national security.
Bitcoin “best defender” of U.S. interests: Coinbase CEO
Meanwhile, in a separate thread on X, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies could play a pivotal role in helping the United States maintain its dominance with the U.S. dollar, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
“One idea I’ve been contemplating is that Bitcoin may be the key to extending western civilization,” said Armstrong in a Dec. 3 post, explaining that cryptocurrencies can work in tandem with the U.S. dollar instead of dethroning it.
“I think it will be a natural check and balance that will complement the dollar and be the best defender of long term American interests,” Armstrong added.
One idea I’ve been contemplating is that Bitcoin may be the key to extending western civilization.
The natural trend of whichever country has the reserve currency is to inflate the money supply and increase deficit spending until it loses that advantage. The U.S. is somewhere on…
— Brian Armstrong ️ (@brian_armstrong) December 3, 2023
He explained that world leaders often fail to retain the reserve currency by inflating its money supply and increasing its deficit spending.
“The U.S. is somewhere on this journey,” Armstrong explained but stressed the Chinese yuan and Euro aren’t viable alternatives at the moment as they have issues of their own.
Related: US Senate approves national defense bill that also targets crypto mixers
Instead, cryptocurrencies have the potential to be the alternative currency in the event of a U.S. dollar downfall:
“What I think many haven’t considered is that people have an alternative now with crypto. They may start moving fiat into crypto, as an antidote to inflation.”
Armstrong stressed it’s better to move from dollars to cryptocurrencies than another country’s fiat currency if the U.S. dollar loses its dominance.
He added that U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and the emergence of flat coins will play a “major role in unifying these worlds.”