As the popularity and adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) increase, some crypto enthusiasts see their potential utility well beyond mere digital money, an investment asset, or a hedge against inflation, including one major in the United States Space Force, who envisions their role in the national cyber-security defense system.
Indeed, in his Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) master’s thesis, which has assumed a high spot on Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) list of best-selling technology books, Major Jason Lowery has proposed that the U.S. should mine and stockpile Bitcoin as a weapon of self-defense, Politico reported on March 30.
Specifically, “Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin” compares Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) system to deer antlers, arguing that it offers a better alternative for future power struggles instead of the destructive nuclear wars or killer robots – just like stags using their antlers to fight over territory without killing each other.
In the case of the metaphorical PoW cyber antlers, the participants would harness energy to generate computer guesses, and the winner of every round would receive a reward in the form of network tokens, along with the right to publish the following block of transactions.
Using this method, the winner would gain power within a distributed computer network that is being used to assign abstract property rights – similar to a real-world game of chess – with the benefit of using the non-violent approach to obtain and protect these hypothetical territories.
Space Force Bitcoin mining
Should Major Lowery’s proposal of a Bitcoin mining-based defense strategy be accepted on a higher level, it would also have a significant impact on the crypto industry, as it would bolster its further adoption and widespread acceptance of digital assets in various industries and areas of society.
However, the regulatory atmosphere has not been very friendly to crypto, as the authorities in the U.S. are seeking to impose strict supervision while spearheading lawsuits against crypto businesses, such as the blockchain company Ripple and crypto trading platform Binance, making it difficult to predict the success of this proposal if presented to top-tier government executives.
Furthermore, environmental advocacy organizations continue to criticize PoW digital assets over concerns related to the potential environmental impact under the “Change the Code, Not the Climate” campaign slogan, despite Bitcoin maximalists like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor arguing that mining is “the most efficient, cleanest industrial use of electricity.”
Crypto sector’s progress
Meanwhile, the crypto market has shown impressive resilience in the face of a banking crisis that has toppled several major banks and continues to threaten others, as well as the continued risks in the financial landscape remaining high, according to José Manuel Campa, the current chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA).
On top of that, it has added nearly 1,000 new cryptocurrencies since the start of 2023, as the bullish momentum returned following a difficult year, and the price of Bitcoin surpassed the $28,000 psychological threshold, adding $30 billion to its market capitalization in a single day.
