$BTC: US Space Force Major’s Book Highlights Bitcoin’s Importance to National Security
In his book “Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin,” Major Jason “Spook” Lowery, a US National Defense Fellow at MIT and an active astronaut engineer in the US Space Force, argues that Bitcoin has the potential to become a strategically important national security technology for the digital age. He argues that the lack of understanding of Bitcoin’s core concepts among the American public could endanger America’s national strategic security.
Lowery emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity to the future of US national strategic security and highlights the role of Bitcoin’s “proof-of-work” as a new type of cybersecurity system. As nations begin to recognize the strategic benefits of Bitcoin, such as Russia’s recent pivot to support the cryptocurrency, Lowery suggests that a cyberspace race could emerge, with the speed of adoption critical.
The author warns that if the US does not consider stockpiling strategic Bitcoin reserves or promoting adoption, it could lose a strategically important power projection technology, leading to its competitors, resulting in a loss of global power dominance. He also argues that the current approach taken by US leaders to analyze the risks and benefits of proof-of-work technologies like Bitcoin could threaten US national security.
Major Lowery traces the history of proof-of-work protocols, saying computer scientists have been researching them for over 30 years. He notes that early software engineers such as Adam Back, Hal Finney and Satoshi Nakamoto designed and built working prototypes, with Bitcoin emerging as the most globally adopted cyber security system to date.
The author explains that sovereign nations are responsible for protecting and defending their people’s access to international thoroughfares, including cyberspace, where valuable bits of information are exchanged. He points out that until Bitcoin, nations lacked an effective way to physically secure their ability to exchange information across cyberspace without resorting to kinetic force.
Lowery argues that proof-of-work technologies such as Bitcoin enable nations to impose severe physical restrictions on other nations in cyberspace in a non-destructive and non-lethal manner. This capability, he says, could transform cybersecurity by allowing the creation of trustless computer networks, with Bitcoin being the first network to prove this design concept.
Although Bitcoin’s initial use involves physically securing the exchange of financial information, Lowery believes that potential applications extend far beyond this scope. He suggests that Bitcoin may represent the beginning of a new kind of military-grade, electro-cyber information security capability, which people and nations can use to defend their agency in cyberspace.
In conclusion, Major Lowery argues that proof-of-work technology could change the future of national strategic security and international power dynamics in ways that are not yet fully understood.
Yesterday, Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, had this to say about Major Lowery’s book:
Major Lowery’s 365-page book, released on February 18, 2023, is available for sale on Amazon and is ranked #1 in the “Digital Currencies” category.
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