U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose Bitcoin Race to China

Digital assets have become a new front in the U.S.-China contest for financial power, with the leader positioned to influence cross-border payments, sanctions enforcement and global capital flows. China is advancing the People’s Bank of China’s digital yuan while controlling the supply chain for mining equipment. It seized 194,775 Bitcoin in the PlusToken case in 2020, though it remains unclear whether the country still holds them.

U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden argued in a May 19, 2026, CoinDesk opinion piece that Bitcoin should be incorporated into national security strategy. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed to Congress in April that efforts were underway, while Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo said the military had deployed one Bitcoin node for testing. The White House established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 6, 2025, saying premature sales had cost taxpayers more than $17 billion.